ABSTRACT

Study on copepod and composition based on the spatial variation of Okhuaihe River, Ikpe, Edo State has been carried out. Four sampling stations into station 1, 2, 3 and 4 and sampling being carried out monthly started from August 2021 to January 2022. A total of 19 physical and chemical parameters were determined. The physical and chemical parameters measured was within the Federal ministry of Environment permissible limits. In general, the water quality of the Okhuaihe River was considered very suitable for drinking according to the Water Quality Index (WQI) classification which was in class 1 (Station 1 12.50, Station 2 10.25, Station 3 11.94, Station 4 11.92). Several water quality parameters such as total suspended solids (TSS, mg/L), dissolved oxygen (DO, mg/L) and water temperature (ºC) influenced the abundance of Copepod during the study period. A total of 2 species of copepods have been recorded in this study. The highest abundance and species number was recorded in station 4. The highest number of copepod were recorded in station 4 with 20 species, followed by station 1 and 3 with 4 species each and station 2 with 3 species. Paracyclop imminutus was the dominant copepod species occupying the four stations during this study. This study proved that the Okhuaihe River is not alarming and the copepod encountered are characteristics of a tropical freshwater habitat.