Original Research Article
The Effect of Dredging on the Fish Distribution of Agbura River, an Influent of the Nun River
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Article Number: DRJBB11987305
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26765/DRJBB11987305
ISSN: 2734-2158
Vol. 9(4), Pp. 31-38, July 2023
Copyright © 2023
Author(s) retain the copy right of this article
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.
Abstract
The Agbura River in Yenagoa Local Government of Bayelsa State, Niger-Delta, Nigeria, was the site of the study, which was conducted between July 2019 and January 2020 to determine the impact of dredging operations there. Along the river, three sampling sites were selected. The decision is based on the position of the river’s vegetation (Station 3), the suction dredging site (Station 2), and human habitation (Station 1). All fish samples collected in the field were brought to the lab for accurate morphometric analysis and identification. Using the analysis of variance (ANOVA), the obtained data were compared for differences; Duncan’s multiple range test and the unpaired t-test were employed to find differences between the three sample locations along the river stretch. There were 728 fish specimens in all, with 10 families, 18 genera, and 22 species represented. The results of the indicator species in the three stations were mostly members of the families Bagridae, Mormyridae, and Cichlidae. The taxa richness was higher in Station 3 and followed by Station 2, station 1 had the lowest taxa richness value, the species diversity index indicated Simpson’s index as the highest and showed that Station 1 had relatively higher dominance values than other stations, and the equitability indices or evenness for the study stations were higher in stations 3 and 2 than station 1. To regulate dredging activities in our water bodies, the government should establish public awareness, education, and regulatory organization.
Keywords: Dredging, fish distribution, taxa richness and species diversityReceived: May 7, 2023 Accepted: June 14, 2023 Published: July 5, 2023