ABSTRACT

Macroinvertebrate form an integral part of an aquatic environment and are important indicators in evaluating the ecological status of aquatic environment. This study was carried out in three stations from November 2020 to February 2021 to determine the community structure of marcobenthic invertebrates in Owan River, Edo State,Nigeria. A total of 14 physical and chemical parameters was analyzed for spatial variation. Among the physical and chemical parameters studied only Dissolved oxygen showed low significance. A total of 6 taxa comprising of 208 individuals were recorded. The marcobenthic invertebrate community were Insecta classified into Order hemiptera, Order coleoptera and Order diptera. The diptera (61.54%) dominated the samples followed by hemiptera (23.08%) and then coleoptera (9.61%). Among the diptera, the family chironomidae were dominant towards the culicidae. In term of abundance, Station 3 had the highest abundance with Station 1 having the least. Species richness was the highest in station 3 and was lowest in station 1. The diversity indices indicated that station 3 was more diverse than station 1 and station 2 having the least diversity. Similarity indices using Bray Curtis similarity test showed similarity in marcobenthos composition in all 3 stations while Jaccard similarity test showed dissimilarity in station 1 and 2 , but showed similarity in station 3.