Assessment of freshwater snails in relation to physicochemical parameters in a rural river, Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

Freshwater snails play a major role in the transmission of some waterborne parasites as well as in understanding ecosystem health. Freshwater snails of a rural river were assessed in relation to some physicochemical parameters. The study was carried out between January and June 2022 in three stations. The water samples were collected and analysed using standard methods while the snails were collected by sweeping the sediments and aquatic macrophytes with a hand net and picking snails off the sediments and macrophytes with hand. One-way Analysis of Variance was used to ascertain significant differences in the physicochemical parameters among the stations while correlation analysis was used to relate the snails’ abundance to the physicochemical parameters. 531 snails of medical and veterinary importance from three species were recorded. The order of abundance was Melanoides tuberculata >Lanistes varicus > Lymnaea natalensis. Most of the snails were recorded in station 3 despite the intensity of human activities and between March and April 2022. The composition, abundance, and distribution of the freshwater snails were influenced by a combination of environmental and anthropogenic factors which in turn were influenced by season. This study showed that Ikwu River is a potential flashpoint for a myriad of water-borne diseases. Knowledge of the distribution of freshwater snails and the factors regulating them will help in their control and the water-borne parasites associated with them.