A Survey of Soil Ambient Physico-chemical Properties in Relation to Soil Nematodes of Eagle Island Mangrove Swamp in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

A study of the physicochemical soil properties in relation to soil nematodes was conducted in a mangrove swamp at Eagle Island in Rivers State. The study was carried out to correlate nematodes with ambient soil properties. Soil Nematodes were extracted from the soil using the modified Bermann’s and Sieving Techniques. Physicochemical properties of the soil such as; temperature, pH, TOC, PO₄, NO₃, Pb, Cu, Na⁺, Mg⁺, K⁺, Ca⁺ and soil texture were tested for their relationship with nematode fauna. There was positive and negative relationships between the physicochemical parameters and the nematode fauna recovered in the study. Nematodes such as; Longidorus Spp.; Criconema Spp.; Tylenchus Spp.; Tylenchorhynchus Spp.; Hirschmanniella Spp.; Rotylenchus Spp.; Hemicyclophora Spp.; Xiphinema Spp.; Pratylenchus Spp.; Aphelenchus Spp.; Helicotylenchus Spp., Rhabditis Spp and Hoplolaimus Spp. were observed in this study. There were significant (p˂0.05) and also non-significant (p˃0.05) correlations between ambient physical, chemical and nematode community measurements in the soil across all sample stations.