PONDS

Zooplankton constitute a diverse assemblage in most freshwater habitats. A study on the assessment of physico-chemical Characteristics in relation to zooplankton communities in fresh water habitats in Oghara, Delta State was conducted from January – March 2021. Water and Zooplankton samples were collected at monthly and fortnightly respectively at three different sampling stations. Physicochemical parameter were determined using standard methods while Zooplankton Samples were preserved with 4% formaldehyde solution. Mean temperature ranged from (26.00 ±0.577 - 28.83 ± 1.589). Mean Value of Ph was slightly acidic to neutral, ranging from (6.76 – 6.05). Dissolved Oxygen was quite low typical of most eutrophic water bodies. BOD mean value was relatively high (5.80 – 8.40) owing to
increased organic decomposition by organisms during the study period. Nitrate ranged from (0.57 to 5.27) during the study period. The result of zooplankton composition indicated the presence of 33 species of Zooplanktons belonging to three major classes; Cladocera 1108 individual taxa (93.5%), Rotifera 5 individual taxa (0.43%) and Copepoda 72 individual taxa (6.07%). Cladocera were more diverse with 21 representative species, followed by Copepods and Rotifers with 9 and 3 species respectively