Biodiversity International Journal

Review Article Open Access

Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in

the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria
Abstract Volume 4 Issue 1 - 2020
Akwa Ibom State is one of the largest oil producing States in Nigeria. Unfortunately, this
Essien-Ibok MA, Isemin NL
State like every other Niger Delta region has gone through devastation and marginalization Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Environmental
over the years; a consequent of exploration and its attendant oil spillage, gas flaring and Management, University of Uyo, Nigeria
climate change. A review of fish composition, diversity and distribution of the major water
bodies in Akwa Ibom State was carried out on spatial and temporal scales, with a view to Correspondence: Essien-Ibok MA, Department of Fisheries
assessment of the fisheries. Water bodies reviewed were of Cross River, Imo River and and Aquatic Environmental Management, University of Uyo,
Qua Iboe River Eco-zones. The review revealed that Cross River is richer when compared Nigeria, Tel 2348085944125, Email
to either Imo or Qua Iboe Rivers. However, a careful management strategy and routine
monitoring are critical for the improvement and sustenance of the fisheries Received: February 05, 2020 | Published: February 14, 2020

Keywords: South eastern Nigeria, physico-chemical parameters, climate change, fish

species composition and distribution

Introduction ecosystems. Their full extent cannot be accurately stated as it

varies with season and from year to year depending on rainfall.
The occurrence and distribution of macro vertebrates and However, these water resources are spread all over the country from
vertebrates are governed mostly by the physical and chemical quality the coastal region to the arid zone of the Lake Chad Basin.11 The
parameters as well as the immediate substrate of occupation.1 The use country has an extensive mangrove ecosystem of which a great
of these macro vertebrates and vertebrates diversity for bio-assessment proportion lies within the Niger Delta (South Eastern Nigeria) and are
therefore provides a simpler approach compared to other environmental also found mostly in Rivers, Delta, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Lagos
quality assessment procedures.1 According to Adakole et al.,2 and Ondo States. They lie between Latitudes 3° and 7° 6’ north and
macroinvertebrate and vertebrates can be sampled quantitatively, and are estimated to cover between 500,000 and 885,000 ha. Freshwaters
the relative sensitivity and tolerance of some of them to contamination start at the northern limit of the mangrove ecosystems and extend to
is deciphered. The degree of tolerance of these species to pollution is the Sahelian region.11 Deltas and estuaries, with their saline wetlands
obviously shown in the reduction of species diversity.3,4 According have a total surface area of 858,000 ha, while freshwaters cover about
to Khan et al.,5 biodiversity is defined as diversity of organisms of 3,221,500 ha.11 But the purpose of this work, we will be narrowing
the world or the variability among world’s living organisms. Ekpo6 our discussion to the three major rivers in the South Eastern Nigeria;
showed that hundreds of thousands of the earth’s species have become Cross river, Imo river and Qua Iboe River (Table 1).
extinct in the last 50 years because of destroying their natural habitats
and excessively depleting their populations. The South Eastern Table 1 Distribution and extent of Nigerian brackish and fresh water bodies
Nigeria in general and the Niger Delta in particular which consist of
mangrove swamps and riparian forests have come under threat in the Types of wetland and Approximate size
References
last six decades as a result of environmental pollution arising from distribution (ha)
oil exploration, drilling and transportation of the products7 and this Deltas and Estuaries
is also applicable to fish.8 Knowledge of status of the fauna and flora i) Niger Delta 617,000 Scott (1966)
of the ecosystem is important in the development and management of
conservation measures.9 Monitoring the physico-chemical parameters ii) Cross River estuary 95,000 Ita11
is very important for studying the influence of these parameters on ENPLAN
iii) Imo and Qua Iboe estuary 36,000
the distribution of various components of biodiversity in headwater
(1974)
stream.4 Water quality is influenced by geological, hydrological,
climatic and anthropogenic factors.10 iv) Others 110,000 Ita11
Nigeria lies between Longitudes 2°49’E and 14°37’E and Latitudes Sub-Total 858,000 Ita11
4°16’N and 13°52’ North of the Equator. The climate is tropical,
characterized by high temperatures and humidity as well as marked Survey sites
wet and dry seasons, though there are variations between South
and North. Total rainfall decreases from the coast northwards. The Cross River
South (below Latitude 8°N) has an annual rainfall ranging between
The Cross River hydrological basin surrounds an area of about 44,
1,500 and 4,000 mm and the extreme North between 500 and 1000
000 miles of which approximately 31,000 miles is located within Nigeria
mm.11 Nigeria is blessed with a vast expanse of inland freshwater
geographic territory and 13,000 miles stretched into the neighboring
and brackish Cameroon Republic. The Cross River system lies between latitude 4 00
12 o 1

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©2020 Essien-Ibok MA et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
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Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria ©2020 Essien-Ibok MA et al. 43

and 8 00 N and longitude 7 20 and 10 00 E. It rises from the Cameroon

o 1 o 1 o 1
an average of two to three fishermen per boat for the river stretch. The
Mountains and flows westwards into Nigeria at about 40 km upstream mean of monthly landings for the flood season was about 153 mt for
of Ikom and southwards through a network of brackish water the western shore and 216.3 mt for the eastern shore giving an overall
channels before finally discharging into the Atlantic Ocean at the total for the flood season of 368.9 mt. Thus the total landing for the
bight of Bonny. According to Asuquo et al., Cross River estuary is
13 14
flood season extending between May to October was about 2,213.4
considered the largest in Africa. This estuary receives inlands drainage mt, while that of the dry season was estimated at 2,534.4 mt giving a
from Calabar, Mbo, Great Kwa and Akpayefe Rivers. Estimates 12
total annual fish landing of about 4,747.8 mt for the freshwater zone
of potential fish yield from the Cross River and its wetlands have of the river.
been attempted by Moses. Using Welcomme’s formula for quick
15 16

The above estimates exclude landings along the brackish water

approximation of possible yields from rivers he arrived at estimates
areas extending from Calabar creeks on the eastern shore and
ranging between 7,790 and 17,140 mt per year with a mean of 12,405
Oron along the western shore to the confluence towns of Obioko
tonnes. However, he accepted the lower limit of 7,790 tonnes as the
and Effiong Oron on the eastern and western shores respectively.
approximate potential yield considering the low fish production of the
Estimated landings at Calcemco Beach (Calabar Town) in June 1985
river (about 10 kg/ha/y).
gave average monthly landings of 31.2 mt for the flood season. These
Moses15 also attempted to extrapolate the catch from the Cross estimates confirm Moses15 conclusion that the lower figure of 7,790
River floodplains, based on the influence of the flood regime, and tonnes is preferable to his upper estimate of 17,140 tonnes. However,
arrived at a mean annual catch of 4,791 tonnes over a period of twelve in view of the limited number of boats operating along the brackish
years (1972–1983). water area the lower limit of 7,790 tonnes is a good approximation of
the total fish landings along this whole river stretch. The composition
According Ita,11 statistical frame and catch assessment surveys of
of the catch for the two consecutive seasons is shown in Table 2.
the artisanal fisheries were conducted between 1985 and 1986 with the
Chrysichthys made up the bulk of the commercial landings both in
objective of substantiating these theoretical estimates and providing a
June 1985 and April 1986, followed by Clarias and Tilapia in June
working data base for the management and control of the fisheries and
1985 and Clarias, Lutjanus and tilapia in April 1986. There was more
the population of fishermen. A total of 811 boats and 2,214 fishermen
species diversity in June, possibly as a result of the influx of migratory
were counted along the eastern shore in 43 fishing camps, 29 fishing
spawners with the early flood waters, than in April at the peak of the
villages and one resettlement village (Table 1). Along the western
dry season.
shore a total of 929 boats were counted with 2,665 fishermen giving
Table 2 Catch composition from commercial landings along the cross river

Species Jun- Apr- Moses17

85 86

No. Wt. Mean % % No. Wt. Mean % % Mean catch %

(kg) Wt. (g) No. Wt. (kg) Wt. (g) No. Wt. (x104kg)

Chrysichthys sp. 123 121.8 990 24.1 44.5 172 113.7 661 36.8 36.4 42.7 12.2
Clarias sp. 55 53.6 975 10.8 19.6 67 41.5 619 14.1 13.3 50.5 14.4
Tilapia sp. 107 34.5 332 21 12.6 134 39.7 296 28.3 12.7 81.8 23.3
Alestes sp. 78 17.2 221 15.3 16.3 - - - - - 2.7 0.8*
Mormyrids 13 16.5 1259 2.5 6 35 18.2 506 7.6 5.8 56.6 16.1
Synodontis sp. 35 15.7 449 6.9 5.7 - - - - - - -
Hydrocynus sp. 28 7.1 254 5.5 2.6 - - - - - - -
Auchenoglanis sp. 18 6.4 356 3.5 2.3 - - - - - - -
Physailia sp. 53 1 19 10.4 0.4 - - - - - - -
Labeo sp. - - - - - 47 16.2 345 9.9 5.2 - -
Lutjanus sp. - - - - - 18 83.2 4622 3.8 26.6 - -
Others - - - - - - - - - - 116.4 32.2*
Total 510 273.8 - - - 474 312.5 - - - 350.7 100

Moses17 gave a more comprehensive checklist of commercial season. Ichthyofaunal survey by Udo18 in Ikpa River; a perennial
landings, comprising both freshwater and marine species possible tributary stream of the Cross River recorded 19 species belonging to
caught along the brackish water zones of the Cross River, which were 16 genera representing 13 families. Malapteruridae was the dominant
not sampled during the current survey.11 His data comprise landings, family (46 fauna constituting15.4%) while Malapterurus electricus
recorded between 1972 and 1975 with tilapias topping the list (Table the dominant species (48 fauna constituting 15.4%).
2), and followed by mormyrids, Clarias and Chrysichthys alongside
Ofem et al., also recorded a total of 548 fish representing 13 species
9

others. The mean weights of the four major species identified during
from 5 families during the dry and wet seasons, with only one family
the two surveys according to Ita11 were higher in June samples than being restricted to the wet season, which was of very rare taxa (Table
in April, indicative of bigger spawning populations during the flood 3). The number of taxa, and relative proportion of each species present,

Citation: Essien-Ibok MA, Isemin NL. Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. Biodiversity Int J.
2020;4(1):42‒48. DOI: 10.15406/bij.2020.04.00163
 Copyright:
Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria ©2020 Essien-Ibok MA et al. 44

upstream, midstream and downstream reaches are shown in Table However, water depth, water discharge, water velocity and
4. Cichlidae, Clariidae and Cyprinidae were the most abundant dissolved oxygen varied significantly between reaches (p > 0.05)
families accounting for 56.7% of the total catch. Tilapia zillii, Clarias (Table 4) and all biological species studied correlated negatively with
gariepinus and Labeo coubie dominated overall catch constituting water discharge and water velocity except the Cyprinids (Table 5).
45.5%. Among the three dominant species, two benthic fishes (L. On the other hand, all the species correlated positively with dissolved
coubie and C. gariepinus) showed inverse distributional patterns. oxygen apart from annelids and the marginal vegetation.9
Clariid fish (C. gariepinus) was most abundant downstream and
Seasonal differentiation evident in higher number of species and
least represented, upstream. Cyprinid (L.coubie), on the other hand,
individuals caught during wet months of the study period, agree
dominated the upstream reaches and scarce downstream. According
with other results which described larger ichthyofaunal densities in
to Ofem and Ikpi (2012), five species were site specific because of the
water bodies in Grahamstown in the rainy season.9,19,20 This was also
association with the midstream portion of the river (L. senegalensis)
attributed to seasonal differences in dissolved oxygen concentration in
and downstream reaches (A. occidentalis, H. longifilis, H. fasciatus
the system, both at low water and during the floods; this factor appears
and C. nigrodigitatus), while distribution of other species revealed no
to have played an essential role in determining the distribution of fish
distinct trends.
within the system.9 In general the more active the species the more
Table 3 Relative proportions of fish species for the three reaches (January it tends to avoid de-oxygenated areas.21 Most species encountered
2006 to December, 2007) downstream during dry season have adaptation for survival in low
dissolved oxygen conditions like presence of external gills (Clarias,
Reaches up River mid River down River up
Heterobranchus). These species form a group that is well adapted to
Family/species pi pi pi
swamps life and tend to concentrate in the more de-oxygenated small
Cichlidae pools and swamps of the floodplain during lowwater, when other
Oreochromis niloticus 0.042 0.038 0.004 more active species like Tilapia and carp are to be found in the mid-
stream (water fall) and upstream respectively.9
Tilapia zilli 0.1100.238 0.098 0
Hemichromis fasciatus 0 0 0.011 Although on a community basis the three reaches did not separate
out, some species when analysed individually revealed specific
Pelmatochromis guntheri 0.01 0.006 0.024
range preferences. Two heterologous species between two genera, C.
Clariidae: gariepinus and L. coubie, the two most common and economically
Clarias anguillaris 0.031 0.005 0.057 viable benthic fishes found in this study, demonstrated opposite
habitat preference, with C. gariepinus dominating the lower reach and
Clarias gariepinus 0.023 0.014 0.315
L. coubie more abundant in the upper reach.9 This opposing habitat
Heterobranchus longifilis 0 0 0.111 preference and the attendant ecological and trophic heterogeneity
Bagridae: reduce competition, and may be responsible for the overwhelming
Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus 0 0 0.013 success of the two species in the Agbokum waterfalls.9 The relatively
higher number of C. gariepinus in the lower reach during this
Auchenoglanis occidentalis 0 0 0.003 study according to Ofem et al.,9 may be due to the fact that being
Mochokidae: mud-dwelling species, most individuals found their natural habitat
Synodontis clarias 0.015 0.004 0.018 downstream. The common carp, L. coubie adapted to live in shallow
rocky bottom, assemble in the rocky upstream. Another dominant
Cyprinidae:
freshwater species (T. zilli) demonstrated great preference to the
Labeocoubie 0.388 0.121 0.003 turbulent well aerated midstream reaches. This distributional trend,
Labeo senegalensis 0 0.044 0 in a similar study(Tumwesigwe, Yusuf, and Makanga, 2000) was
attributed to several factors including fast water current, suitable
Barbus occidentalis 0.034 0.003 0.001
breeding area, marginal vegetation and the absence of competitors
Ofem et al.9 and piscivorous predators.9
Table 4 Mean variation and F-values of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) of physico-chemical parameters of water measured at three sampling sites. I: Upriver,II:
Mid-river, III: Downriver

Properties Upriver Midriver Downriver Properties F-value ANOVA

Physical Conductivity (uScm-1) 36.6 ± 11.0 38.1 ± 11.5 25.3 ± 58.2 0.77 p > 0.05
Water temperature (℃) 28.0 ± 1.1 26.6 ± 1.2 27.2 ± 0.8 3.36 p > 0.05
Water depth (m) 1.4 ± 0.7 2.2 ± 0.5 4.8 ± 0.6 4.32 p > 0.05
Water discharge (m3s-1) 156.71 ± 12 1496.46 ± 82 189.8 ± 13 5.8 p > 0.05
Water velocity (m/s) 1.94 ± 0.25 1.01 ± 0.3 0.5 ± 0.14 4.32 p > 0.05
Transparency (cm) 26.6 ± 13.9 29.5 ± 14 28.8 ± 13.4 1.56 p > 0.05
Physical Conductivity (uScm-1) 36.6 ± 11.0 38.1 ± 11.5 25.3 - 58.2 0.77 p > 0.05
Water temperature (℃) 28.0 ± 1.1 26.6 ± 1.2 27.2 ± 0.8 3.36 p > 0.05
Chemical
Dissolved oxygen (mg/l) 6.6 ± 0.3 9.61 ± 0.2 4.34 ± 0.5 3.98 p > 0.05
pH 7.0 ± 0.2 7.0 ± 0.2 7.1 ± 0.2 1.43 p > 0.05
Ofem et al. 9

Citation: Essien-Ibok MA, Isemin NL. Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. Biodiversity Int J.
2020;4(1):42‒48. DOI: 10.15406/bij.2020.04.00163
 Copyright:
Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria ©2020 Essien-Ibok MA et al. 45

Table 5 Results of Pearson correlation analysis using physico-chemcal and According to Ikenna et al.,1 the abundance of the fish fauna in
biological parameters from Agbokum waterfalls Otamiri River was dependent on season as more fishes were captured
in dry season than in wet season. More species were also recorded and
Water Water Water Dissolved
Item with high diversity indices in the dry season than in the wet season
depth
discharge velocity O
2 in all the stations, Ikenna et al.1 Ikenna et al.,1 Pearson correlation
Chlorophytes -0.675 -0.564 -0.654 0.654 analysis of fish species abundance with some physicochemical
Cyanophyceae -0.766 -0.843 -0.321 0.435 parameters showed a significant positive linear relationship between
abundance of S. budgetti, C. nigrodigitatus and P. affer and water
Rotifers -0.492 -0.477 -0.765 0.755 temperature (r = 0.6996, 0.473 and 0.530 respectively). There was
Cladocerans -0.566 -0.777 -0.465 0.665 significant negative relationship between abundance of S. budgetti,
C. gariepinus and water depth (r = -0.615 and - 0.481 respectively)
Cichlids 0.586 -0.345 -0.234 0.788
and only S. budgetti abundance had a significantly positive linear
Cichlids 0.897 -0.657 -0.654 0.234 relationship with turbidity (r = 0.595, p < 0.01).1
Cyprinids 0.675 0.768 0.876 0.888 The Authors however attributed the dominance of C. nigrodigitatus
Decapods 0.456 -0.543 -0.287 0.654 at station 3 over stations to pollution, stress and high level of
anthropogenic activities such as sand dredging, mining and waste
Annelids 0.654 -0.254 -0.432 -0.765
disposal, in stations 1 and 2. This assertion was in line with the report
Azolla -0.564 -0.671 -0.654 -0.234 of Nwankwo et al.,22 that also attributed low species abundance and
Nympha -0.444 -0.876 -0.324 0.564 diversity at some sites in a river in South Eastern Nigeria to pollution
of such sites. Ikenna et al.,1 noted that parameters such as temperature,
Commelina 0.398 -0.432 -0.487 -0.675 depth, DO and turbidity had influence on the community composition
Ofem et al. 9 of Otamiri River. This supports the claims by Brown et al.,23 that the
abundance and diversity of benhic fauna are generally affected by the
Imo River physical and chemical characteristics of water, availability of food
and substrate quality. Finally, Ikenna et al.,1 noted that anthropogenic
The Imo Basin is located south of the Okigwe Hills from where it activities at Otamiri River affected the fish diversity of the area.
rises between latitudes 4° 45’ and 6° 17’N and longitudes 6° 35’ and Meanwhile, Okereke24 also recorded 46 fish species from 20 families
8° 10’E. The major tributaries of the Imo River include the Rivers in Otamiri River.
Ibu, Iyiba, Uchu, Anamiri, Iyeachara, Eme and Otamiri and all these
tributary rivers are perennial.11 This basin is located in the rain forest Assessment of fish landing by artisanal fishers in Imo River at
zone with adequate rainfall. The rainy season begins in April and lasts Owerri-Nta was also conducted from January-December, 2013.25 Nine
for seven months up to October. The inundated soils are composed fish species belonging to seven families were identified in the fisher’s
of clay with a good water retention capacity and hence several flood catch on the river during the survey as shown on Table 7, while their
ponds are left behind after the flood season.11 Along the Imo River relative abundance is shown on Table 8. The fish species Tilapia zillii,
Basin, the Oguta/Egbema plain is flooded seasonally by overflow a cichlid was the most dominant with a total value of 3,342 and 22.87
from the Niger and Ulasi rivers which flow parallel to each other. % in terms of numbers and percentage abundance respectively. The
Other floodplains exist all along the course of the Imo River. Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus, with 13.08 % percentage abundance,
was the species of the highest market value and based on the catch
The fish production potential of the Anambra/Imo River Basins was composition, the river was productive and comparable with other
estimated at 10,000 mt by the Overseas Development Administration smaller but productive Nigeria Rivers, reservoirs and lakes.25
(ODA) for the former East Central State (now Anambra, Enugu, Imo
and Abia States). The yield from the rivers is low hence fishermen Table 7 List of fish families and species identified in Imo River at Owerri-Nta,
resort to exploiting the flood ponds.11 Abia state

Ikenna et al.,1 also reported a total of 129 benthic fish fauna Fish families/species Common name Local name
belonging to 5 species and 4 families in Otamiri River (Table 6). Alestidae
Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus was the most abundant species (32.65%) Alestes macrophthalmus Tiger fish Sako
while the least abundant species was Synodontis soloni (2.18%).
Cichlidae
Table 6 Species composition and percentage abundance of fish fauna in
Hemichromics fasciatus Tiliapa Atabala
Otamiri River
Tilapia guineensis Tiliapa Atabala
Family Species S1 (%) S2 (%) S3 (%) Otamiri River
(%) Tilapia zilli Tiliapa Atabala

Mochokidae Synodontis budgetti 8(80) 5(45.5) 7(6.5) 20(15.5) Claroteidae

Mochokidae S. soloni 2(0.0) 3(27.3) 0(0.0) 5(3.9) Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus Cat fish Okpor

Calroteidae Chrysichthys 0(0.0) 0(0.0) 83(77.9) 83(64.3) Channidae

nigrodigitatus Parachanna obscura Snakehead Snakehead
Clariidae Clarias gariepinus 0(0.0) 2(18.2) 11(10.2) 13(10.1)
Hepsetidae
Notopteridae Papyrocranus afer 0(0.0) 1(9.1) 7(6.5) 8(6.2)
Hepsetus odae Tiger fish Sako
10(7.8) 11(8.5) 108(83.7) 129(100)
Malapterutridae
Ikenna et al.,1 S1 = station 1, S2 = station 2 and S3 = station 3

Citation: Essien-Ibok MA, Isemin NL. Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. Biodiversity Int J.
2020;4(1):42‒48. DOI: 10.15406/bij.2020.04.00163
 Copyright:
Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria ©2020 Essien-Ibok MA et al. 46

Table Continues...
Fish families/species Common name Local name to 12 families in Qua Iboe (Table 9). The most abundant fish was
Malapterurus electricus Electric catfish Eruru Barbuscallipterus (35.11%) fowed by Bienomyrusbrachyistus
(12.64%), Malapterurus electricus (8.4%) while Xenomystus nigri
Polypteridae
and Anqspidoglanis fasciatus having 0.28% abundant each.
Erpethoichthys calabaricus Rope fish Iroro
The report of Ekpo et al.,28 in Qua Iboe River estuary also recorded
Adaka et al.25 187 fishes comprising 17 species belonging to 10 families.Mugilidae
Table 8 Fish species composition and their percentage abundance in the total recorded the highest percentage abundance (58.30) followed by
catch during the twelve months of catch assessment Trachinidae (12.84), Sciaenidae (9.09) while Sphyraenidae and
Serranidae recorded the lowest percentage abundance with 0.53
Fish families/species Common name Local name each. However, the species Liza grandisquamis recorded the
Alestidae highest abundant with 27.80% of the total species assemblages. The
Alestes macrophthalmus Tiger fish Sako general observation is that Imo River and Qua Iboe River Basins are
comparatively poor when compared to Cross River Basin. According
Cichlidae
the report of Ambrose et al.,29 revealed that the smallest size of matured
Hemichromics fasciatus Tiliapa Atabala female of Pseudotolithus elongatus (22.5 cm) in Cross River Estuary
Tilapia guineensis Tiliapa Atabala was relatively larger than earlier report by Akpan et al.,27 which noted
that the smallest matured female of the species in Qua Iboe River
Tilapia zilli Tiliapa Atabala and Imo River Estuaries were 21.4 cm and 18.8 cm respectively.
Claroteidae Ambrose et al.,29 added that the fecundity of fish increases with size
and also noted that the high fecundity of P. elongates in the Cross
Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus Cat fish Okpor
River Estuary ensures that in spite of the fluctuating physicochemical
Channidae ambience, a majority of the newly spawned fish have a huge chance of
Parachanna obscura Snakehead Snakehead survival. Ekpo et al.,30 estimated about 77 species distributed into 52
genera, 29 families and 9 orders, with averagely one to three species
Hepsetidae per genus in the lower Cross River flood plain. This is however the
Hepsetus odae Tiger fish Sako largest that has been recorded in the course of this review
Malapterutridae Table 9 Families, species and total number of specimens caught in Qua Ibe
River, Nigeria
Malapterurus electricus Electric catfish Eruru
Polypteridae Family Fish species Number
Polypteridae Erpetoichthyscalabaricu 24
Erpethoichthys calabaricus Rope fish Iroro
Notopteridae Xenomystusnigri 1
Adaka et al.25
Mormyridae Bienomyrusbrachyistus 45
Qua Iboe River Isichthyshenrgii 3
Qua Iboe River lies within the tropical region in the South Eastern Characidae Brycinuslongipinnis 20
Nigeria. It is located at latitude 4o 391 and 27o 611 N and longitude 7o Cyprnidae Barbuscallipterus 125
521 and 42o 181 E is the dominant hydrographic feature in AkwaIbom
State, Nigeria. It drains it catchment area of about 7. 092 km2 and the Bagridae Anqspidoglanisfasciatus 1
river course covers a distance of 151 km from its source at Umunike A. akiri 7
in Imo State to where it discharges in to the Atlantic Ocean at the
Chrysichthysaluuencis 7
Bight of Bonny close to Ibeno. There are two predominant season
(wet and dry seasons) in the zone. The dry season spans between Malapterinidae Malapteruruselectricus 30
November and April, while the wet season spans between May and Cyprinodontidae Epiplatysbifasciatus 9
October. Rainfall is significantly lower at the head water, but increases
downstream. Qua Iboe River basin is subject to heavy rainfall with E. sexfasciatus 21
concomitant changes in the physical characteristics of the water.26 Cichlidae Thysochromisansorgii 6
The heavy rainfall in the River basin results in substantial leaching of
Hemichromisfasciatus 12
the soil nutrients and the transport of large amount of allochthonous
organic matter in to the river. Rainfall is therefore the most important Chromidontilipiaguntheri 18
hydro-meteorological variable that affects its physical hydrology.27 Tilapia mariae 12
According to Ekpo et al.,26 However some work on the species Pelvicachromispulcher 4
distribution on some streams and rivers on the Qua Iboe River basin
Channidae Parachannaafricana 6
has been reported although with more emphasis have been on the
trophic spectra. Udo et al.,26 reported 13 species from Obio Akpa Anabantidae Ctenepomanebulosum 3
Stream; a tributary of the lower reach of the Qua Iboe River. The most Nandidae Polycentopsisabbreviata 2
abundant fish species was Tilapia dubia (111.11%) followed by Clarias
356
anguilaries (10.56%) and Heterobranchus sp and Ophiocephalus
sp with 9.44% respectively while the least abundant species was Source: Ekpo et al.30
Calamoichthys sp and Notopterus sp with 5.5% respectively. Ekpo
et al.,27 also recorded 356 fishes comprising 20 species belonging The water quality assessment of these river basins have also been

Citation: Essien-Ibok MA, Isemin NL. Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. Biodiversity Int J.
2020;4(1):42‒48. DOI: 10.15406/bij.2020.04.00163
 Copyright:
Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria ©2020 Essien-Ibok MA et al. 47

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Citation: Essien-Ibok MA, Isemin NL. Fish species diversity, abundance and distribution in the major water bodies in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria. Biodiversity Int J.
2020;4(1):42‒48. DOI: 10.15406/bij.2020.04.00163