Water Quality Disturbances on Phytoplankton Species Composition and Abundance in Mini-Ndai Creek, Niger Delta, Nigeria

An investigation into the effect of water quality disturbances on the phytoplankton species composition and abundance in Mini-Ndai creek was carried out over a 6- month period from March- August 2012. Five sampling stations were established within the creek with station 5 marked as contaminated, surface water and phytoplankton samples were collected monthly and analyzed according to standard methods. Concentrations of physic-chemical parameters were similar to previous reports in the Niger Delta. A total of 66 species of phytoplankton belonging to 32 genera and 3 classes were identified throughout the study. Bacillariophyta (Diatoms) consisting about 97% dominated the phytoplankton community followed by Cyanophyta (2.36%) and Chlorophyta (0.45%). Station 5 which houses the abattoir had the highest concentration of nitrates and pH which showed a significant positive correlation with phytoplankton total abundance which was equally highest at station 5. Anthropogenic input of organic load into the aquatic ecosystem as revealed in this study influenced the species composition, distribution and abundance of the phytoplankton community of Mini-Ndai Creek.