Abstract

In recent years, there have been increase concern about the rate at which inland waters are polluted through run offs into streams, therefore leading to eutrophication which affect the specific composition of Zooplanktons and variation of physicochemical parameters as well as changing the qualities of these water bodies. The studies on some physicochemical parameters and relative abundance of zooplankton of Antau River, Keffi, Nasarawa State was carried out at Antau River while water samples were transported to the Research Laboratory of Nasarawa State University Keffi for water quality analysis. Water temperature (oC) and Dissolve Oxygen (DO) (mg/l) of the water were analyzed using JPB-607A portable DO analyzer. Portable turbidity meter SGZ-200BS was used to determine the turbidity of the water. HI 83200 multi-parameter Bench Photometer was used to determine the alkalinity of the water samples. Water pH was measured with Hanna 420 pH meter. Electrical conductivity (EC) was measured using Hanna 420 conductivity meter. Monthly mean value of temperature ranged from 26.30±0.40 – 27.55±0.210C, water pH ranged from 6.68±0.46-7.79±0.03, and depth from 23.19±4.70 – 53.15±3.05 cm. Electrical conductivity (EC) was between 60.00±20.00 – 314.00±346.0 μs/cm. Dissolve oxygen (DO), Alkalinity and Total dissolved solid (TDS) monthly mean value ranges from 3.45 – 5.40 mg/L, 2.50±2.50 – 70.00±70.00 mg/L and 40.20±13.40 – 210.40±164.80 mg/L, respectively. Analysis of variance revealed that there was no significant difference between monthly values of the physic-chemical parameters of Antau River during the study period (May - August) at P>0.05, except the depth that showed significant difference at P<0.05. Zooplanktons abundance in Antau River during the study period was dominated by Copepods, and Cladocerans, followed by Rotifers and Protozoan’s. The Zooplankton abundance varies with month and sites, which may be due to fluctuation of physico-chemical parameters. Correlation matrix showed that there were significant correlations between Zooplankton and Physicochemical parameters.