Water Quality and Phytoplankton as Indicators of Pollution in Ibuya River

Ibuya River runs across the Old Oyo National Park and there is paucity of information on the limnology of the river. In order to assess the status of the river, phytoplankton and water quality were examined during the study period of September 2012 to February 2014 at four sampling stations. A total of 45 species of phytoplankton belonging to four families were identified. The most representative family in terms of species richness was Bacillariophyceae (25 species), followed by Chlorophyceae (9 species) and Euglenophyceae (8 species) and the least dominant is Cyanophyceae with 3 species. Water temperature was 24.73 ± 0.21°C, pH was 7.57 ± 0.04 and dissolved oxygen (DO) was 4.43 ± 0.15 mg/L, conductivity was 140.83 ± 5.60 µS/cm, TDS was 98.11 ± 3.80 m/L. Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb) and Phosphate (PO₄3˗) exceeded the permissible limits for surface water (0.003, 0.01 and 3.5 mg/L) respectively. The water quality and phytoplankton species composition of the river showed that allochthonous input from activities within and outside the park has subjected the ecosystem to pollution pressure.