Akintayo Akinpelu* and Adesola Hassana
Fish are the main resource got from inland water bodies in south west Nigeria, two reservoirs resident in Oyo State, Eleyele and Asejire Reservoirs are investigated. Physicochemical parameters such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, water transparency, flow rate, pH and fish morphometrics such as gender, weight, length are compared to the parasite diversity in fishes. Results show that physicochemical parameters at both study sites were within national regulated limits set by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) while only Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), went above the limits. Fish morphometrics revealed a low condition factor, with a mean of 0.85 ± .24 for cichlids, and a mean condition factor of 0.73 ± 0.43 for catfishes in Eleyele reservoir. Cichlid fishes in Asejire reservoir had a mean condition factor of 0.90 ± 0.31, while catfishes had a mean condition factor of 0.65 ± 0.14. Parasite diversity in Eleyele reservoir was critically low while in Asejire had higher parasite diversity to Eleyele but was however also low. This study reveals that the two reservoirs are severely impacted by anthropogenic activities while, Eleyele reservoir is greatly impacted and needs intervention to stop the decline of biotic diversity.
Published Date: 2023-01-10; Received Date: 2022-09-21
