Benthic Macroinvertebrates in fish spawning grounds, diversity and spatial distribution, Buyo lake dam (Côte d'ivoire)

Abstract

This work focuses on the diversity and spatial distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in the ichthyological spawning grounds of Lake Buyo. Sampling took place from June 2018 to May 2019 on 11 spawning grounds using a Van Veen grab, a dip net and a dip net. A total of 19,940 individuals grouped into 28 Families, 13 Orders, 6 Classes and 4 Branches were identified. The most abundant Families with a percentage higher than 20 in the study area are Thiaridae (63.33%) and Chironomidae (22.88%). The Insects class is the most diversified with 17 families followed by Gastropods with 8 families. The values of the Shannon-Weaver indices and the Pielou equitability calculated are low, which reflects a low taxonomic diversity and an imbalance in the spatial distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in the different ichthyological spawning grounds.