Plankton Species Compositions and Distributions at Some Selected Sites of River Benue, Adamawa State, Nigeria

The present study assessed the plankton’s species compositions and distributions of River Benue, Adamawa state. The studies were conducted for a period of nine months, from December, 2017 to August, 2018 using standard scientific methods to evaluate the potential and productivity of the river. The Phytoplankton population of River Benue was dominated by Chlorophyta 990(39.68%) and the least was Bacillariophyta 174(6.97%), while Zooplanktons was dominated by Rotifers 120(47.06%) and the least was Cladocera 63(24.71%). Phytoplanktons were represented by thirteen (13) species (Microcystis sp, Oscilatoria sp, Gomphospaeria sp, Anabaena sp., Nostoc sp Scenedesmus sp, Spirogyra sp, and Ulothrix s., Volvox sp. Euglena sp. Cyclotella sp, Cymbella sp and Diatomella sp.), while Zooplanktons were represented by ten (10) species (Keratella sp, Branchionus sp, Monostyla sp., Euclanis sp., Pelomyxa sp, Paramecium sp., Acanthometron sp., Daphnia sp, Microcyclop sp and Bosmina sp). Site D recorded high concentration of both phytoplankton and zooplankton, while Site C recorded less of both. The presence of high number of Chlorophyta in the water body shows a gradual deterioration of the water quality and this could be attributed to the different anthropogenic activities at the sites.