Assessment of Surface Water Quality using Phytoplankton as Base-line Indicator Organisms in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria
Loading...
Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Umaru Musa Yar'adua University, Katsina.
Abstract
Timely and accurate water quality monitoring is crucial to ensure their sustainable use and
safeguard public health. Therefore, this study assessed surface water quality in Mubo River
(SP1) and Sobi Dam (SP2) in Ilorin, using phytoplankton as base-line indicator organisms.
Water samples were collected on July 20th (rain season) and December 20th (dry season),
2023, at 0.3 meters from the mid-water column. The physicochemical parameters of the water
samples were determined using standard methods. The standard microscopic techniques were
used to enumerate and identify phytoplankton genera. The findings showed that the pH and
DO (mg/l) levels were within the permissible limit stipulated by the National Environmental
Standard and Regulation Enforcement Agency for Surface Water in Nigeria (NESREA). The BOD
(mg/l) and COD (mg/l) levels were above the permissible limit for SP1 for both seasons. The 8
genera of pollution-tolerant phytoplankton recorded were Cyclotella, Chlorella, Closterium,
Chlamydomonas, Micractinium, Microcystis, Euglena, and Phacus, with Chlorella having the
highest abundance percentage in all the sampling sites. The Shannon diversity indices values
indicate lower phytoplankton species diversity (H ≤ 1.99) in all the water samples. The
Palmer’s pollution index (PPI) scores ranged from 14 to 18 in the sampling sites. Palmer's
index suggests likely high organic pollution in Mubo Rivers' in both sampling periods. A notable
high level of organic pollution was recorded in Sobi Dam only during the rainy season. The
relatively high turbidity, BOD (mg/l), and COD (mg/l) values support the index pollution scores
and confirm the suitability of phytoplankton as baseline indicators for organic pollution
assessment in surface water.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Aborisade, W. T., Ajao, A. T., & Sadiq, A. I. (2024). Assessment of surface water quality using phytoplankton as baseline indicator organisms in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. UMYU Journal of Microbiology Research (UJMR), 9(1), 26–33. https://doi.org/10.47430/ujmr.2491.003