Population Dynamics of Parasitic Nematodes as an Indicator of Soil Health of Eagle Island Mangrove Ecosystem, Port Harcourt

Authors

  • Aloysius Oswoabo

    Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Port Harcourt, Choba P.M.B. 5323, Nigeria
  • Sidney Obidinma Nzeako

    Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Port Harcourt, Choba P.M.B. 5323, Nigeria
  • Aroloye Ofo Numbere

    Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Port Harcourt, Choba P.M.B. 5323, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v8i5.11818
Received: 26 August 2025 | Revised: 4 April 2026 | Accepted: 9 April 2026 | Published Online: 8 May 2026

Abstract

Mangrove forests globally are biodiversity hotspots, supporting microbes, vertebrates, and invertebrates. We thus postulate that, because mangrove soil is a habitat for numerous organisms, it will be a hotbed of both soil- and plant-based nematodes. This study is significant because there is a dearth of information on nematode studies in the Niger Delta region. The present study was based on samples collected from five stations to assess dynamics in population and trophic diversities in a mangrove ecosystem. Data Analysis showed a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) of nematodes in Rhizophora spp. (61.2%) and Avicennia spp (38.8%). Nematode community composition was evaluated as enumerated by the Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’), Simpson’s (D) and Hill’s Index of evenness based on the weighted means of Colonizer-Persister (c-p) guilds. A total of 13 genera of nematodes were recorded with bacterivores representing (10%), fungal feeders (13%) and obligates (77%). Based on taxonomic groups, (49%) belong to the family, Tylenchoidae, 28.3% Dorylaimoidae, 10.3% Rhabditidae, 7.4% Criconematoidae and 4.1% Aphelenchoididae. The Shannon and Simpson indices registered values of 1.0 and 0.5 respectively indicating low diversity. Evenness Index scored a value of 0.8, which is close to 1. Our findings indicate an average even distribution amongst families within the Eagle Island soil which indicates stability of the community. The contribution of bacterivorous and herbivorous nematodes with high c-p values was high in our study. This thus led to high Maturity Index (3.5), indicating stability.

Keywords:

Diversity; Mangrove; Prevalence; Parasitic Nematodes; Public Health; Soil Fauna

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How to Cite

Oswoabo, A., Nzeako, S. O., & Numbere, A. O. (2026). Population Dynamics of Parasitic Nematodes as an Indicator of Soil Health of Eagle Island Mangrove Ecosystem, Port Harcourt. Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences, 8(5), 100–110. https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v8i5.11818

Issue

Vol. 8 , Iss. 5 (May 2026): In Progress

Article Type

Article

License

Copyright © 2026 Aloysius Oswoabo, Sydney Obidinma Nzeako, Aroloye Ofo Numbere Numbere

Creative Commons License

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

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