Francis O. Arimoro

Federal University of Technology Minna · Department of Biological Sciences

The use of organisms like macroinvertebrates in developing bioassessment tools, such as multimetric indices (MMIs), is gaining global recognition in monitoring the health status of lakes. The transition from traditional methods of physico-chemical parameters is due to the financial and time costs involved in their analysis while failing to provide...

Africa harbours about a third of the world’s largest natural resource reserves of mineral such as gold and diamonds. These vast mineral reserves in Africa are essential to the continent's development and modern industrial society. However, these minerals, including gold, are often illegally mined by locals which leads to biodiversity loss and groun...

Freshwater ecosystems comprise only 0.01% of the volume of water on Earth (Dudgeon et al., 2006) and 0.8% of its surface (Mittermeier et al., 2010), while harboring approximately 10% of the global diversity (Strayer and Dudgeon, 2010; Winemiller, 2018). Waterways, wetlands, lakes, and other freshwater ecosystems provide many ecosystem services, for...

Human activities and global climate change affect ecosystems, species, and human services and resources (Dudgeon et al., 2006; Reid et al., 2019). Freshwater ecosystems are the most fragile habitats, hosting roughly 7% of the world’s biodiversity on 1% of land and 0.01% of water (Gleick, 1996; Reid et al., 2019). Human population growth exacerbates...

In the developing nations like Nigeria, the science of freshwater biomonitoring is still scanty unlike developed countries. In this study, we explored the significance of using macroinvertebrates for biomonitoring of the Chanchaga River in the Lower Niger-Benue Ecoregion of Nigeria in four stations sampled for 14 months which covered both wet and d...

Microplastics (MPs) are pollutants of emerging concern that have been reported in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems as well as in food items. The increasing production and use of plastic materials have led to a rise in MP pollution in aquatic ecosystems. This review aimed at providing an overview of the abundance and distribution of MPs in riverin...

The increasing stress on lake ecosystems is affecting their functioning such as providing goods and services to inhabiting organisms and riparian communities. Monitoring of water quality is important for sustainable management and restoration of lake ecosystems. However, the costs associated with traditional approaches have become prohibitive, whil...

Motivation Aquatic insects comprise 64% of freshwater animal diversity and are widely used as bioindicators to assess water quality impairment and freshwater ecosystem health, as well as to test ecological hypotheses. Despite their importance, a comprehensive, global database of aquatic insect occurrences for mapping freshwater biodiversity in macr...

Human dire need for environmental sustainability have triggered researchers to seek for organic substrates as an alternative to synthetic fertilizers in order to enhance bioremediation. Presently, nitrogen-rich organic substrate not only proffered the solution but also have proven useful in enhancing the rate of bioremediation. Animal manure is a n...

Motivation: Aquatic insects comprise 64% of freshwater animal diversity and are

Motivation: Aquatic insects comprise 64% of freshwater animal diversity and are widely used as bioindicators to assess water quality impairment and freshwater ecosystem health, as well as to test ecological hypotheses. Despite their importance, a comprehensive, global database of aquatic insect occurrences for mapping freshwater biodiversity in mac...

We examined the distribution patterns of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera functional feeding groups (EPT FFGs) in five streams that drain semi-urban landscapes in the Tsitsa River catchment, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. We undertook macroinvertebrate and physicochemical analysis over four seasons between 2016 and 2017 at eight s...

Land use modification is a notable cause of biodiversity loss in streams. However, the impacts of anthropogenic forest conversion on β-diversity are difficult to forecast, especially in Afrotropical stream ecosystem, mainly because: 1) empirical research is scant, and; 2) the few available studies provide conflicting findings. In our study, we used...

The degradation of rivers in urban landscapes is alarming and impaired their ecological functions and the services they provide to society. In African cities, urban rivers are among the most degraded ecosystems, yet ecologically sustainable utilisation of river resources can contribute to and support sustainable urban development. In this paper, we...

The increasing stress on lake ecosystems is affecting their functioning such as providing goods and services to inhabiting organisms and riparian communities. Monitoring of water quality is important for sustainable management and restoration of lake ecosystems. However, the costs associated with traditional approaches have become prohibitive while...

Anthropogenic pollution from urban and agricultural activities continually affects freshwater ecosystems in Africa, adversely affecting water quality and biodiversity. In this study, we explored the responses of macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups (FFGs) to an urban-agricultural disturbance in the Niger Delta Region, aiming to examine their...

Urban pollution is increasing at an alarming rate within the catchments of forested riverine systems in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria inclusive. Assessing the impact of pollution in riverine systems in the Niger Delta region is still within the use of physico-chemical variables and biota-based assemblage. In covering this important gap in freshwater...

Rivers suffer from multiple stressors acting simultaneously on their biota, but the consequences are poorly quantified at the global scale. We evaluated the biological condition of rivers globally, including the largest proportion of countries from the Global South published to date. We gathered macroinvertebrate‐ and fish‐based assessments from 72...

Pollution of aquatic ecosystems is constantly increasing with the increase in anthropogenic activities all over the world with negative effects on the constituent biota. The current study addressed the possibility of remedying the effects posed to the tissues of Clarias gariepinus fi ngerlings (3-11g initial weight) exposed to lead nitrate over 12 w...

This study was carried out to evaluate larval habitat productivity indices, age-structure distribution and diversity indices of Culex mosquito populations in Minna, Nigeria. Mosquitoes were systematically collected from conventional mosquito breeding habitats using Dipping method. Data collected were analysed for habitat productivity, Culex larval...

Macroinvertebrates, alongside physico-chemical variables, were sampled and analyzed for nine months between April and December 2019 in three Stations (Stations 1, 2 and 3) in the Wupa River, Abuja, Nigeria. The stations were selected to represent an increasing pollution gradient from Station 1 < Station 2 < Station 3. Our result showed that Station...

Since recorded time, rivers have facilitated the establishment of human civilizations because of the myriad ecosystem goods and services they offer (Macklin and Lewin, 2015). Rivers provide transportation corridors, supply food in form of fisheries, and are major sources of water for irrigation, domestic use, renewable energy, and industrial develo...

In the past decade, it has been reported that water quality of rivers are deteriorating increasingly. In this study we examined the state of River Ossiomo to assess the current health of the river for a period of 24 months from in three well marked out stations. The study was to determine the relationship between environmental variables and fish sp...

The ever increasing anthropogenic activities all over the world that usually lead to the release of myriads of pollutants such as cadmium call for concern. In the present study, the effects of cadmium chloride on the haematology of C. gariepinus and how such effects can be mitigated through the administration of vitamins were investigated. C. garie...

This study employed multiple regression analysis to evaluate the impact of weather variables (relative humidity, rainfall amount and maximum temperature) on the reported number of Lassa fever cases and to assess the strength of relationship between same for thirteen states in northern Nigeria (Adamawa, Bauchi, Jigawa, Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano,...

In the past decade, it has been reported that water quality of rivers are deteriorating increasingly. In this study we examined the state of River Ossiomo to assess the current health of the river for a period of 24 months from April 2019 to March 2020, then July 2020 to May 2021 in three well marked out stations. The study was to determine the rel...

Anthropogenic pollution of water has become an urgent management challenge across the world. We explored benthic macroinvertebrates community structure in relation to physicochemical conditions of the water column and sediments along an anthropogenic stress gradient in a southern Nigeria stream. We used Principal Component Analysis (PCA) followed b...

Macrophytes are creatures with low versatility and cannot stay away from any mix of streamflow, nutrient accessibility, and other physical and chemical attributes that impact their survival in the aquatic system. Sampling for macrophytes in Chanchaga River was conducted monthly for a 6-month period (May-October 2019). Sampling stations were selecte...

Freshwater biodiversity is rapidly declining due to accelerated human-induced disturbances. Increased human-induced environmental disturbances are believed not to only decrease species numbers, but to also diminish beta diversity, for instance, by the local extinction of native species and wide-spread introduction of non-native species – a process...

Metabolic Reserve (MR) is critical for success of adult mosquitoes, and its availability across life stages of mosquitoes is affected by abiotic factors such as water hardness. We investigated the influence of water hardness levels on MR in Culex quinquefasciatus, vis-à-vis its accumulation, mobilisation and utilisation for metamorphosis. First lar...

The ever-increasing anthropogenic activities all over the world that usually led to release of plethora of pollutants such as lead calls for concern. In the present study the effects of lead nitrate on the production of antioxidants such as reduced glutathione (GSH) in C. gariepinus and how such effects can be ameliorated through administration of...

The Chikke Stream Bida, Northcentral Nigeria is an important water source for its riparian communities. This study evaluates the impact of habitat structure and anthropogenic activities on Chikke Stream using physicochemical parameters and macroinvertebrate assemblages collected over eight months (January-August 2017) using modified kick sampling t...

Effects of cadmium chloride on the production of antioxidants such as reduced glutathione (GSH) in Clarias gariepinus and how such effects can be ameliorated through administration of vitamins were investigated. C. gariepinus fingerlings were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of Cd (00, 12mg/L, 16mg/L, 20mg/L and 24mg/L) with replicate in each c...

This study examines the relationship between Meningitis and weather parameters (air temperature, maximum temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall) in Kaduna state, Nigeria on a weekly basis from 2007–2019. Meningitis data was acquired weekly from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Bureau of Statistics and weather parameters were sourced...

Cement factory waste water impacts on the ecology of macroinvertebrate assemblages of the Oinyi River, North Central area of Nigeria, were evaluated bi-monthly for 1 year as part of a study to understand the effects of pollution processes in the lotic system that may initiate the development of policy and improved regulation. Three sampling station...

Urbanisation of riverine landscape is an increasing threat to the functionality of river ecosystems. In this study, we identify and classify macroinvertebrates indicator signature traits and ecological preferences.We hypothesised that urban pollution would differentially influence the distribution of macroinvertebrate traits and ecological preferen...

The anthropogenic activities culminating in environmental pollution usually lead to release of plethora of pollutants such as cadmium calls for concern. The effects of CdCl 2 on the production of aspartate amino transferase (AST) in C. gariepinus and how they can be ameliorated through administration of vitamins were investigated. C. gariepinus fin...

Trait-based approach (TBA) in recent time has received tremendous attention as complementary tool over taxonomic-based approach in assessing ecological health of riverine systems in developed countries, but in the Afrotropical region the trait-based approach is still in its infancy. No trait-based approach has been developed for riverine systems dr...

Indicator species (IS) have been employed in modern aquatic research for monitoring of environmental changes and evaluating the efficiency of environmental management procedures. In this study, we evaluated the possibility of developing surrogate indicator groups as tools for the conservation and management of the biodiversity of Northern Nigeria s...

The biological assessment of rivers i.e., their assessment through use of aquatic assemblages, integrates the effects of multiple-stressors on these systems over time and is essential to evaluate ecosystem condition and establish recovery measures. It has been undertaken in many countries since the 1990s, but not globally. And where national or mul...

Motivated by the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals on achieving sustainable freshwater ecosystem, this study was undertaken to examine two important water bodies in north central Nigeria (Baka Jeba and Penyan Rivers) protected locally by the rural community and serving as sources of water supply, for biodiversity conservation and protection....

An eight weeks feeding trial was carried out to evaluate the influence of supplementing different levels of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in diets on survival rates and some growth parameters of Heteroclarias juveniles under laboratory conditions. S. cerevisiae was included in the diets at 4 levels of 0.00 (control: Aquamax), 5.00, 10.00 and 15.00% with...

Background The present study was designed to quantify the contributions of water pH and hardness required for development and adult fitness indices of Culex quinquefasciatus ( Cx. quinquefasciatus ) mosquitoes. To this end, seven water pH conditions (pH 4.0–10.0) and five hardness levels (0, 30, 90, 150 and 210 mg/L CaCO 3 ) were simulated followin...

The influence of urbanization on macroinvertebrate traits was explored in forested rivers in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. Physico-chemical variables were sampled on a monthly basis alongside macroinvertebrates in 20 sites of 11 rivers spanning 2008-2012. Physico-chemical variables were used to classify the 20 sites into three ecological classes...

Studies on biomonitoring the aquatic environment using host-parasite dynamics as bio-indicators of effects and accumulators of heavy metals insults are still scarce, particularly in the tropics. In our study, we aimed at elucidating the possible use of helminth parasites of fish in monitoring and controlling heavy metal pollution. Samples were coll...

Seasonal changes in the abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates and physico-chemical condition of Moussa Stream, Bida Nigeria, were studied monthly from January to August 2017. Macroinvertebrates were sampled using modified kick sampling techniques. Three different sampling stations were selected along the course of the Stream. The results from the...

Fish is clearly regarded as the cheapest source of protein for man and other livestock, but fish farmers are constrained by massive mortality of fry and fingerlings due to helminth parasite invasion. Prevalence of helminthic parasite infection of two (2) commercially important and easily-culturable fish species of Nigeria (Clarias gariepinus and Ti...

While there is a substantial increase in the number of studies investigating the biodiversity of the Afrotropical region, the influence of season on biodiversity is still poorly understood. The biodiversity patterns of 15 streams along with seasonality and environmental correlates were explored from 2016 - 2017. Biodiversity variables were calculat...

Macroinvertebrate signature traits’ and ecological preferences’ distribution patterns and their responses to urban and agricultural pollution were explored in rivers-draining urban–agricultural catchments within the Niger Delta ecoregion of Nigeria. Physico-chemical variables (water temperature, electrical conductivity, depth, flow velocity, dissol...

The concentrations of heavy metals such as Cu, Ni, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cr and Zn were studied in core sediments of Orogodo River, Nigeria to understand heavy metal contaminations of core sediments as a result of urban sprawl and agricultural practices. The core sediment samples were collected from 0 to 60 cm depths using a corers, digested with a mixture o...

Urban pollution of riverine ecosystem is a serious concern in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. No biomonitoring tool exists for the routine monitoring of effects of urban pollution on riverine systems within the region. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and apply a macroinvertebrate‐based multimetric index for assessing water qualit...

Some toxic effects of lead nitrate (PbNO3)2 on Heterobranchus longifilis under laboratory conditions for periods of 42 days were investigated. 300 fingerlings were obtained and acclimatized for 14 days. The acute toxicity test was conducted for 96 hours to determine the LC50. Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Lipid Peroxidase (LPO) production levels w...

Fish are particularly sensitive to a wide variety of agrochemicals including glyphosate herbicide that may arise from not only deliberate discharge of these chemicals into waterways but also from approved agricultural practices. The toxic effects of glyphosate on Clarias gariepinus juvenile mean weight 10.05 ± 1.50g and mean length of 10.75 ± 1.80c...