A survey of the ichthyofauna of Odot Stream, a wetland stream in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, was conducted bi-monthly for six months (June to December, 2016) to investigate the temporal and seasonal variation of fish assemblage and fish diversity using unbaited gillnets (25-30cm mesh size).
Results/Conclusions
A total of 60 fish specimens comprising of 16 species belonging to 7 families were recorded during the study. The highest temporal abundances in terms of specimens were recorded in August and July (12 specimens) both with higher wet season values. The lowest values were in November and December (5 specimens each) during the dry season. Cichlidae recorded the highest diversity (8 species) while Ctenopoma kingsleyae recorded (20 specimens, 33.3%) of the total number of fish caught and the least were T. jentinki, O. niloticus, O. aureus, O. macrocephala, B. longippinis, A. spilopterus and H. odoe with only one specimen each (1.7%), during the course of the study. Shannon-Weiner diversity and Margalef index were highest in June, with 1.846 and 2.502, respectively. T. zillii, T. mariae, C. kingsleyae were significant contributors based on the Index of Preponderance (<0.50). The results of this survey showed that the families and species recorded were impressive, despite the size of the stream and the sampling gear used, and worthy of further studies so as to develop and sustain this fisheries resource. Thus, these findings serve as benchmark information for future studies to be built-up or compared.