This study was designed to determine how various anthropogenic stressors impact the water body and the effect of stressors on the abundance and diversity of the zooplankton population at the different stations. Abundance and diversity of zooplankton during the dry season in the lower River Benue, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria was studied between March and April, 2008. Three sites were chosen and the pour-through method used for zooplankton collection. Fifteen species of zooplankton were identified. Rotifera species was dominant (54.5%); followed by Cladocera (26.82%), Copepoda (7.91%), Ostracoda (6.43%) and Decapoda (4.33%). Through out the study, six species of Rotifera, five species of Cladocera, two species of Copepoda and one species each of Ostracoda and decapoda were identified. Not all of the identified species were found in all three sites, thus indicating different types of pollution across the sites. There was no significant difference in the quantity of zooplankton across the sites; however the quality differs as a result of the various stressors (P>0.05). These findings indicate that the effect of anthropogenic stressors, brewery effluent and refuse impact the water body, albeit minimally.

Key words

Abundance, Diversity, freshwater zooplankton, River Benue

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