BIODIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE OF ZOOPLANKTON OF BOTH RIVER OWAN AND RIVER OSSE

SUMMARY

Zooplankton is an important biota in freshwater ecosystems. They serve as a major link in the food web of aquatic ecosystem as well as good bioindicators. the qualitative and quantitative sampling of Osse and Owan River, Edo state, Nigeria, yielded a total of 314 crustacean zooplankton individuals. In constrast to earlier study of these rivers, it is clear that the species abundance has been greatly affected by anthropogenic activities.  It is therefore recommended that future studies on these rivers should be carried out on these rivers.