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ZOOPLANKTONS ASSEMBLAGE ALONG JEBBA UPPER BASIN, NIGERIA

ZOOPLANKTONS ASSEMBLAGE ALONG JEBBA UPPER BASIN, NIGERIA

Diversity and abundance of zooplankton of Jebba Upper Basin, Nigeria, were studied between March and May 2015. Three stations were selected and sampled monthly and investigated for zooplankton community structure using basic measurement of diversity for qualitative and quantitative samples to characterize the zooplankton fauna. The zooplanktons were present throughout the sampling period in the month of May with average abundance of 108 individuals/10 ml. The high abundance of individuals was also recorded in March but higher in the month of May. A total number of 658 individuals of zooplanktons were enumerated from the samples. The most evenly distributed is cladocera which represented 40.58% of the total population of zooplankton, though most abundant zooplankton is copepoda (41.19%) while Rotifer is the most diverse in terms of species representation. The zooplankton abundance followed the order copepoda>cladocera>rotifer. The zooplankton community of Jebba Upper Basin dominating and characterized by the species indicate good ecological condition of the river.