PRELIMINARY RECORDS OF PERIPHYTON ALGAE IN ERUVBI STREAM, EDO STATE, NIGERIA.

This paper provides records of periphyton from Eruvbi stream in Edo State, Nigeria. Periphyton samples were scrapped from aquatic macrophytes, twigs, plant litter, wood, stones leaves, and roots of aquatic macrophytes, found in and around the streams’ bank and preserved in 4% unbuffered formalin. Periphyton samples were examined microscopically using several taxonomic literatures. Results revealed a total of 67 periphyton taxa distributed within five divisions namely; Bacillariophyta (27), Chlorophyta (25), Euglenophyta, (8), Cyanophyta (5) and Rhodophyta (2). Most commonly occurring species were of the genera Navicula ≥ Oscillatoria > Ulothrix > Frustulia > Microspora > Spirogyra > Closterium. However, of all taxa recorded, the desmid genus Closterium was by far the most diverse floristically with 10 species, accounting for 40% of the Chlorophyta assemblage and 15% of the total periphyton species assemblage. Periphyton algae records provided in this study are baseline data for future phycological assessments of Eruvbi stream.