Assessment of Physicochemical Characteristics and subtidal benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Luubara Creek and New Calabar River, situated in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

The objective of this paper was to assess the Physicochemical Characteristics and subtidal benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Luubara Creek and New Calabar River, situated in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria using appropriate standard procedures. In Luubara Creek, the physicochemical values ranged from 25.1±0.1 to 29.2±0.15 ºC for temperature, 5.26±0.02 to 6.65±0.02 for pH, 3.95±0.06 to 5.02±0.02 mg/l for dissolved oxygen, 0.44±0.01 to 1.23±0.02 mg/l for salinity, 16.5±0.07 to 20.7±0.03 μS/cm for electrical conductivity, 0.23±0.01 to 1.61±0.06 mg/l for nitrate, 0.21±0.02 to 0.75±0.03 mg/l for phosphate and 122.8±1.21 to 210.9±1.03 mg/l for total dissolved solids values. Similarly, in New Calabar River the physicochemical values ranged from 26.9±0.15 to 33.4±1.85 ºC for temperature, 6.79±0.02 to 7.33±0.04 for pH, 3.91±0.03 to 4.53±0.38 mg/l for dissolved oxygen, 0.51±0.02 to 1.14±0.01 mg/l for salinity, 19.8±0.12 to 26.9±0.06 μS/cm for electrical conductivity, 1.62±0.04 to 3.62±0.04 mg/l for nitrate, 0.36±0.02 to 0.58±0.02 mg/l for phosphate and 126.7±1.13 to 236.5±2.52 mg/l for total dissolved solids values. Benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Luubara Creek were dominated by Thiaridae, Sesarmidae, and Chironomidae, while New Calabar River showed dominance by Nerididae, Capitellidae, and Spionidae. These findings suggest relatively low diversity in these water bodies, which is consistent with observations in the Niger Delta region. This study shows importance of assessing water quality using biological indicators.