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Macrophytic Vegetation of River Ethiope at Umuaja, Ukwani Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria
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1  National Research Tomsk State University
Academic Editor: Antoni Sánchez

Abstract:

This abstract presents an overview of aquatic macrophytes and their importance for the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. It also discusses the effect of water quality and nutrient enrichment on macrophyte distribution, and the development of survey and monitoring techniques for characterizing waterside habitats. Finally, it highlights the need for detailed data for detecting change at individual sites. Physicochemical parameters are major factors when considering the quality of water samples to the presence of macrophytes in an aquatic ecosystem. A study carried out from January to March in 2019 shows that the mean value of water temperature was the highest in February with a mean value of 26.5oC; PH, alkalinity, sulfate (SO42-) and nitrate (NO3-) were the highest in January while conductivity, total hardness of water, magnesium, biological oxygen demand (BOD) and phosphate were the highest in March. Moreover, water was 100% transparent during the whole study period. Twelve (12) macrophytes belonging to ten (10) families were encountered. The most abundant macrophytes encountered were the species Bumbusa vulgaris (Poaceae family). A single emergent macrophyte Ipomoea aquatic (Convolvulaceae family) was encountered. Free-floating and submerged macrophytes were absent due to the high flow rate of the river. It was observed that the physiocochemical parameters of River Ethiope fall under the normal range of good quality water supporting Macrophytic vegetation.

Keywords: Diversity; Aquatic Macrophytes; Physiochemical parameter; River Ethiope
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