Issue 2 (202)/2025

ALSE and ACS Style
Bodji, I.M.; Soro, M.; Coulibaly, L.; N’Zi, K.G. Ecological water quality and benthic macroinvertebrates: impact on fish spawning grounds in Lake Buyo, Côte d’Ivoire. Journal of Applied Life Sciences and Environment 2025, 58 (2), 287-300.
https://doi.org/10.46909/alse-582176

AMA Style
Bodji IM, Soro M, Coulibaly L, N’Zi KG. Ecological water quality and benthic macroinvertebrates: impact on fish spawning grounds in Lake Buyo, Côte d’Ivoire. Journal of Applied Life Sciences and Environment. 2025; 58 (2): 287-300.
https://doi.org/10.46909/alse-582176

Chicago/Turabian Style
Bodji, Iridjé Marcelle, Mamadou Soro, Lèfoungognon Coulibaly, and Konan Gervais N’zi. 2025. “Ecological water quality and benthic macroinvertebrates: impact on fish spawning grounds in Lake Buyo, Côte d’Ivoire.” Journal of Applied Life Sciences and Environment 58, no. 2: 287-300.
https://doi.org/10.46909/alse-582176

Ecological water quality and benthic macroinvertebrates: impact on fish spawning grounds in Lake Buyo, Côte d’Ivoire

Correction published on 23 December 2025. See Erratum.

Iridjé Marcelle BODJI*, Mamadou SORO, Lèfoungognon COULIBALY and Konan Gervais N’ZI

Laboratory of Natural Environments and Biodiversity Conservation, Université Felix Houphouët Boigny,

22 P.O. Box 582, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; e-mail: mamadousoro24@gmail.com; lef.coulibaly@gmail.com; nzi.gervais@ufhb.edu.ci

*Correspondence: bodji.marcelle@ufhb.edu.ci

Received: Apr. 24, 2025. Revised: May 20, 2025. Accepted: Jun. 05, 2025. Published online: Jul. 04, 2025

ABSTRACT. This study aimed to determine the ecological quality of ichthyological spawning grounds in the Lake Buyo partial wildlife reserve, part of Taï National Park. Ichthyological spawning grounds are aquatic habitats used by fish for reproduction. In Côte d’Ivoire, knowledge of these spawning grounds was very fragmentary and mostly based on an inventory and summary description of spawning grounds. Data collection was carried out from June 2018 to May 2019 at 11 ichthyological spawning grounds. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled using a Van Veen bucket and handle dip net. Ten grab samples were taken at each site. The dip net was used to sample habitats that were difficult to access with the grab and were very shallow. The Warwick Ecological Stress Index and the Hilsenhoff Biotic Index were used to analyse water quality. A total of 19,940 individuals belonging to 28 families for a biomass of 1,361,549 g were counted. Thiaridae and Chironomidae families were the most abundant, with 63.28% and 22.88%, respectively. The analysis of the abundance–biomass curves showed that the biomass curve was higher than the abundance curve, with values ranging from 0.18 to 0.61. These values indicate stress due to the enrichment of the water with organic matter. The analysis using the Hilsenhoff Biotic Index indicated that organic pollution ranges from poor (6.98) to very poor (7.73). The ecological quality of the lake’s waters has a negative impact on ecological diversity, leading to the disappearance of certain aquatic species through the destruction of spawning grounds.

Keywords: benthic macroinvertebrates; ecological water quality; ichthyological spawning grounds; Lake Buyo.

 

INTRODUCTION

Despite their low volume, surface freshwaters are home to a rich and diverse fauna comprising different trophic levels (Tachet et al., 2010). Deterioration in the quality of these waters is leading to an alteration in their ecosystems and a reduction in the original diversity of fish populations (Allardi and Keith, 1991). In addition, river development through the construction of hydroelectric and agro-pastoral dams has led to an accumulation of organic matter in the lacustrine part of the lake, resulting in a high level of mineralisation and disrupting the natural environment.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the hydrographic network comprises approximately 537 rivers, including four (04) main watersheds (Cavally, Sassandra, Bandama and Comoé) and small coastal basins (Tabou, San Pedro, Niouniourou, Boubo, Agnéby, Mé and Bia), as well as tributaries of major transboundary rivers (Niger, Volta Noire). These surface waters represent around 39 billion cubic metres, 65% of which is used for agriculture, 23% for industry, and 12% for public use (UNEP, 2010). These watercourses provide many goods and services to the Ivorian population in general and to riverside communities in particular, who exploit them for fishing activities. The development of the Ivorian population and the growing demand for animal proteins have led to the overexploitation of aquatic ecosystems. This overexploitation of fishery resources, linked to practices in violation of regulations on fishing in continental waters in Côte d’Ivoire, has caused numerous disturbances [Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves (OIPR), 2014]. Lake Buyo, a hydroelectric dam in southwest Côte d’Ivoire, is no exception. Between 2005 and 2014, its fish production fell from 3,126.8 to 1,956.5 tonnes, a drop of over 62% (OIPR, 2020). Given the social impact of Lake Buyo’s waters, it is important to determine its ecological quality. In recent years, benthic macroinvertebrates have been the most widely used species for assessing water quality (Arimoro et al., 2007) because they are relatively sedentary, making them good controls and bioindicators of local conditions (Camargo and Alonso, 2004; Pelletier, 2002). Benthic communities, based on their classification, could be divided into three categories of ecosystems: intact and fragile environments; environments undergoing a certain degree of moderate impact, reflecting the resilience of ecosystems; and environments with high human activity.

The aim of this study was, therefore, to define the ecological status of ichthyological spawning grounds with a view to proposing solutions for the conservation and sustainable management of fishery resources.

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study site

The Buyo dam is a hydroelectric dam built in 1980 on the basin downstream of the confluence of the Sassandra and N’zo rivers (natural boundary of the Taï National Park from north to west). It is located in southwest Côte d’Ivoire, between coordinates 06°14’ and 07°03’ north latitude and 06°54’ and 07°31’ west longitude (Kouamé, 2010). This dam generated a 900 km² artificial lake containing around 8.4 billion m³ of water after its commissioning (Anonymous, 2020). The area selected for this study is the part within the Taï National Park (PNT). According to OIPR (2006), this area of the forest was flooded after the dam was impounded. It is directly exempt from any gold panning or agricultural activity that could impact the quality of this hydrosystem. The only human activity authorised in this area is fishing. This study was carried out in the 11 ichthyological spawning grounds identified by N’Dri (2020) (Figure 1).

Aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling and identification of ichthyological spawning grounds

Sampling took place monthly from June 2018 to May 2019 at each spawning ground. Organisms were sampled using a dip net and a Van Veen bucket at all spawning grounds. After sampling and rinsing the benthos with water and a 1 mm mesh sieve, the organisms were sorted in situ on a white-bottomed tray with forceps and preserved in pillboxes with 5% titrated formaldehyde. Organisms were gently handled with fine forceps in Petri dishes in the laboratory under a binocular magnifying glass. They were then identified down to the lowest possible level using the identification keys of Belleg (1981), Déjoux et al. (1981), Diomandé et al. (2000), De Moor et al. (2003) and Tachet et al. (2003), before being counted and weighed using a 0.01-gram precision balance. Eleven (11) ichthyological spawning grounds identified on the basis of work by N’Dri (2020) were used as sampling sites.

Data analysis

Taxonomic richness

Taxonomic richness (Rt) is the total number of taxa found in an environment. It is a good indicator of the ecological quality of an environment and provides information on the variability of ecological niches in that environment (Aliaume et al., 1990).

 

 

Percentage of occurrence

The percentage of occurrence (F) was used to assess the constancy of a taxon in a given spawning ground. It is the ratio between the number of samples (Pi) in which family i appears and the total number of samples (P) in the biocenotic unit considered (Dajoz, 2000) (Equation 1).

Dajoz’s (2000) classification scale was used to classify the different families into three distinct groups: F ≥ 50%: constant taxa; 25% ≤ F <50%: accessory taxa; and F < 25%: accidental taxa.

Relative abundance

Relative abundance (Ar) was used in this study to assess the proportion of a taxon (Ni) in relation to the total number of individuals (Nt) (Faurie et al., 2003) (Equation 2).

Biomass

Biomass, in g/m², expresses the mass (M) of individuals harvested per unit area (S). The mass used in this study was that of individuals preserved in 10% diluted formaldehyde. Its formula is as follows (Equation 3):

Jaccard similarity index

Jaccard’s similarity index (Ij) was used to measure the degree of similarity of macroinvertebrate populations between different spawning grounds. It groups spawning grounds according to their taxonomic composition based on the presence or absence of taxa (Legendre and Legendre, 1998). The similarity between habitats taken in pairs was determined using the classification of Djego et al. (2012), according to which Ij > 0.5 shows there is similarity between habitats, while Ij < 0.5 shows there is di-ssimilarity between habitats (Equation 4).

Ecological stress index

The Ecological Stress Index (ESI) was used to highlight the characteristics of assemblages that may result from stress (pollution) suffered by spawning grounds. This index is defined as the average of the difference between the cumulative proportions of species biomass (B) and species abundance (A) over the total number (N) of species observed (Warwick, 1986). Abundance–biomass curves are based on the principle that, in a stable state, a healthy environment is occupied mainly by a certain number of species. If the biomass curve is above that of abundance, then there is no stress; if the two curves overlap, there is mild stress; and stress is severe when the abundance curve is above that of biomass (Warwick et al., 1987).

Hilsenhoff biotic index

The Hilsenhoff Biotic Index (HBI, 1988) is a recognised indicator for assessing the health of watercourses based on benthic communities. The HBI method is based on the sensitivity of benthic invertebrates to various disturbances and, depending on their relative abundance in background population samples, reflects the degree of disturbance suffered by the sampling site.

Thus, a community strongly dominated by a few taxa may indicate the presence of stress. Tolerance ratings, varying on a scale of 0 to 10, have been assigned to the various families (Bode et al., 2002; Hilsenhoff, 1988).

The level used for this work is the family (Equation 5).

RESULTS

Inventory and analysisof benthic macrofauna

A total of 19,940 benthic macroinvertebrates were counted across all 11 spawning grounds sampled during the study period. These individuals were grouped into 4 phyla, 6 classes, 13 orders, 28 families, and 33 taxa (Table 2). The analysis of the population showed that in terms of abundance, the Gastropod class represents the highest percentage (68.3%), followed by the Insect class (29.1%), while the others consist of Bran-chiopoda (1.57%), Arachnida (1.04%), Turbellaria (0.02%), and Clitellata (0.01%; Figure 2). In terms of diversity, the Insects class represented the highest proportion (17 families), followed by the Gastropods class (8 families) and the others, composed of Arachnids, Branchiopods, Clitellates, and Turbellari-ates classes, each with 1 family (Figure 3).

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of benthic fauna

Annelids (Clitellates)

The Naididae family was the only representative of the Annelids in our samples, representing a small proportion of the total fauna (0.01% of the fauna collected). It was an accidental family, with an occurrence of 9.09%.

Platyhelminthes

Platyhelminthes (Turbellariidae) were represented only by the family Planariidae, with a proportion of 0.02% of the total fauna collected and an occurrence of 18.18%. The presence of this family was, therefore, classified as accidental.

Molluscs

The Molluscs sampled consisted exclusively of Gastropods and represented 68.32% of the total fauna collected. They consist mainly of Thiaridae (63.33%), Planorbidae (2.04%), and Bulinidae (1.93%).

The other families are represented by less than 1% of the total fauna collected. Consistent families in our samples are Thiaridae, with an occurrence of 90.91%, and Bithyniidae, Bulinidae and Planorbidae, with occurrences of 82.82% each. The Lymnaeidae family is classified as accessory, with an occurrence of 36.36%. The Lithoglyphidae and Physidae families are classified as accidental, each having an occurrence of 9.09%.

Arthropods

Arthropod phylum was divided into 3 classes: Arachnids, Branchiopoda, and Insects. It represented 31.65% of the total fauna collected.

Families representing more than 1% of the total fauna were Chironomidae (22.87%), Corduliidae (1.80%), Limnadiidae (1.57%), Coenagrionidae (1.31%), Caenidae (1.05%), and Hydrachnidae (1.04%).

 

Table 1
Hilsenhoff Index Interpretation Scale (HBI) (Hilsenhoff, 1988)

HBI	Qualité de l’eau	Appréciation
0.00 – 3.75	Excellent	No organic pollution
3.76 – 4.25	Very good	Slight organic; pollution possible
4.26 – 5.00	Good	Probable organic pollution
5.01 – 5.75	Medium	Fairly substantial organic pollution
5.76 – 6.50	Rather bad	Substantial organic pollution
6.51 – 7.25	Bad	Very substantial organic pollution
7.26 – 10.00	Very bad	Serious organic pollution

 

Table 2
Distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates collected at spawning grounds from June 2018 to May 2019

Familles

Taxons

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

F9

F10

F11

O(%)

Ar(%)

Naididae

Branchiodrilus hortensis (Stephenson, 1910)

*

9,09

0,01

Planariidae

Planaria torva (Müller, 1774)

*

*

18,18

0,02

Bithyniidae

Bithynia tentaculata (Linnaeus, 1758)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

82,82

0,92

Bulinidae

Bulinus truncatus (Audouin, 1827)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

82,82

1,93

Lithoglyphidae

Lithoglyphus naticoides (Pfeiffer, 1828)

*

9,09

0,01

Lymnaeidae

Myxas glutinosa (Müller, 1774)

*

*

36,36

0,08

Omphiscola sp.

*

*

Physidae

Physa sp.

*

9,09

0,01

Planorbidae

Biomphalaria pfeifferi (Krauss, 1848)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

82,82

2,04

Thiaridae

Melanoides tuberculata (Müller, 1774)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

90,91

63,33

Hydrachnidae

Hydrachna globosa (De Geer, 1778)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

90,91

1,04

Limnadiidae

Limnadia lenticularis (Linnaeus, 1761)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

72,73

1,57

Baetidae

Baetis sp.

*

*

18,18

0,02

Belostomatidae

Lethocerus americanus (Leidy, 1847)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

82,82

0,31

Caenidae

Caenis latipennis (Banques, 1907)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

82,82

1,05

Cerambycidae

Cerambycidae

*

9,09

0,01

Ceratopogonidae

Ceratopogonidae

*

*

18,18

0,04

Chaoboridae

Chaoborus sp.

*

*

18,18

0,06

Chironomidae

Chironomus sp.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

100

22,87

Polypedilum sp.

*

Coenagrionidae

Ceriagrion tenellum (Villers, 1789)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

82,82

1,31

Erythromma sp.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Ischnura sp.

*

*

*

*

Corduliidae

Epitheca bimaculata (Charpentier, 1825)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

90,91

1,8

Ephemerellidae

Ephemerellidae

*

9,09

0,01

Gerridae

Gerris lacustris (Linnaeus, 1758)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

63,64

0,12

Gyrinidae

Gyrinus sp.

*

9,09

0,01

Leptophleibiidae

Thraulus bellus (Eaton, 1881)

*

*

18,18

0,04

Libellulidae

Trithemis annulata (Palisot de Beauvois, 1807)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

82,82

0,61

Nepidae

Ranatra linearis (Linnaeus, 1758)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

63,64

0,18

Polymitarcyidae

Ephoron virgo (Olivier, 1791)

*

*

*

*

*

*

54,55

0,07

Potomanthidae

Potamanthus luteus (Linnaeus, 1767)

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

82,82

0,53

28

33

18

15

4

15

15

16

17

5

17

20

18

F: Spawning ground; O: Occurrence; Ar: Relative abundance; *: Presence

 

 

 

The other families represented less than 1% of the total fauna collected.

In all samples, the Chironomidae family is present in all spawning grounds, with an occurrence rate of 100%. It is followed by Corduliidae (90.91% occurrence), Belostomatidae, Caenidae, Coenagrionidae, Libellulidae, and Potomanthidae (82.82% occurrence each), Gerridae and Nepidae (63.64% occurrence each, and Polymitarcydae (54.55%). All these families were classified as constant. Baetidae, Ceratopogonidae, Chaoboridae, and Leptophleibiidae (18.18% occurrence each) and Cerambycidae, Ephemerellidae, and Gyrinidae (9.09% occurrence each) were accidental families.

Taxonomic similarity between spawning grounds

Jaccard’s similarity index (Ij) was used to assess the degree of similarity of benthic macroinvertebrates between the different spawning grounds sampled (Table 3). For all spawning grounds, Jaccard’s similarity index ranged from 0.1 to 0.52. Similarities were observed between spawning grounds F5 and F1 (Ij = 0.52) and between spawning grounds F5 and F2 (Ij = 0.51). With the exception of these spawning grounds, the others show dissimilarities, with Ij values less than 50.

Assessing the ecological health of spawning grounds

Ecological stress index

In the ichthyological spawning grounds of Lake Buyo, the value of Clarke’s W index varied from -0.375 in spawning ground F3 to 0.167 in spawning ground F8. Analysis of the ESI showed that the abundance curve is above that of biomass in spawning grounds F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, and F11 with negative Clarke W indices (-0.075, -0.039, -0.375, -0.001, -0.026, -0.159, -0.07, and -0.063, respectively). This indicates that these spawning grounds were highly stressed.

As for spawning beds F8, F9 and F10, the two curves overlap, with positive Clarke’s W indices close to zero (0.167, 0.036, and 0.075, respectively). This indicates that these spawning grounds were under moderate stress (Figure 4).

 

Table 3
Jaccard’s similarity index for benthic macroinvertebrates from Lake Buyo ichthyological spawning grounds sampled from June 2018 to May 2019

	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	F6	F7	F8	F9	F10	F11
F1	1
F2	0.48	1
F3	0.26	0.27	1
F4	0.48	0.45	0.29	1
F5	0.52	0.51	0.24	0.49	1
F6	0.34	0.35	0.16	0.36	0.45	1
F7	0.39	0.33	0.2	0.31	0.4	0.44	1
F8	0.16	0.18	0.31	0.2	0.14	0.1	0.15	1
F9	0.31	0.3	0.16	0.24	0.35	0.37	0.34	0.13	1
F10	0.3	0.24	0.14	0.24	0.32	0.34	0.39	0.14	0.45	1
F11	0.44	0.4	0.22	0.35	0.42	0.44	0.4	0.16	0.32	0.31	1

F: Spawning ground

 

 

Hilsenhoff index

Hilsenhoff Index values calculated in the different spawning grounds are presented in Table 4. Hilsenhoff Index values ranged from 6.98 to 7.73.

The highest values were observed in spawning grounds F8, F9, and F10, with 7.73, 7.6, and 7.54, respectively. The lowest values were recorded in spawning grounds F6 (6.98), F5 (7.03), and F4 (7.03).

 

Table 4
Hilsenhoff Index calculated from macroinvertebrates in the spawning grounds of Lake Buyo from June 2018 to May 2019

Sprawning ground	Hilsenhoff Index	Water quality
F1	7.26	Very poor
F2	7.07	Poor
F3	7.33	Very poor
F4	7.03	Poor
F5	7.03	Poor
F6	6.98	Poor
F7	7.16	Poor
F8	7.78	Very poor
F9	7.6	Very poor
F10	7.54	Very poor
F11	7.2	Poor

 

DISCUSSION

The benthic macrofauna collected in the fish spawning grounds of Lake Buyo consists of 32 taxa. The work carried out by Kouamé (2010) on this lake mentions only 24 taxa. This difference between the results is due to the sampling method and the types of habitats surveyed. Kouamé (2010) only used a dip net when sampling at two sites (left and right banks of the lake). The taxa collected are divided into six major zoological groups, in order of importance: Insects (63% of taxa), Gastropods (23% of taxa), Clitellates, Arachnids, Branchiopods, and Turbellaria (3% of taxa each). The predominance of Insects and Gastropods over other classes in African freshwater environments occurs because these groups are cosmopolitan and more easily colonise heterogeneous ecological niches (Durand and Lévêque, 1981).

Insects represent the most taxonomically rich group of organisms. This diversity is thought to be linked to the ubiquity of these organisms due to their high ecological plasticity. These same observations were noted by Kouamé (2010) in the same environment, Simmou (2017) in four coastal rivers in southeastern Côte d’Ivoire, Tenkiano (2017) in the waterways of Guinea, Arifi et al. (2019) in the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah dam reservoir in Morocco, Tapé (2020) in the artificial lakes of Yamoussoukro, and Motchié (2021) in three lakes in the department of Bongouanou. Among Insects, the order Ephemeroptera is the most diverse, with six families and six taxa. This diversity of Ephemeroptera is thought to be linked to the nature of the different habitats, which are characterised by a heterogeneous substrate rich in organic matter. Quantitative analysis indicated an abundance of Gastropods and Diptera in the fish spawning grounds of Lake Buyo. This could be explained by the enrichment of these waters with nutrients. During low water periods, the banks of the spawning grounds are heavily colonised by terrestrial grasses. During high water periods, these terrestrial grasses are suffocated by the water and decompose, producing large amounts of organic matter. In addition, the contribution of organic matter from the primary forest of Taï National Park is significant due to runoff and the decomposition of leaves and fruits that fall directly into the lake. All these inputs promote the development of algae and macrophytes, which are an important food source for the proliferation of certain families of Gastropods (Kaboré et al., 2016; Strong et al., 2008). This observation was made by Appiah (2019) in the Ebrié lagoon in Côte d’Ivoire. The high abundance of Gastropods and Insects in the spawning grounds is due to the dominance of the taxa Melanoides tuberculata and Chironomus sp. The high presence of these two taxa, which are indicators of pollution, shows that the waters of the Buyo Lake spawning grounds are enriched with organic matter.

The analysis of the abundance–biomass curve based on taxa shows that the abundance curve is above the biomass curve in spawning grounds F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, and F11 with negative Clark index (W) values (-0.075, -0.039, -0.375, -0.001, -0.026, -0.159, -0.07, and -0.063, respectively). In spawning grounds F8, F9 and F10, Clark index values were positive but close to zero (0.167, 0.036, and 0.075, respectively). According to the Clark index interpretation scale, negative values indicate high stress in the waters of spawning grounds F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, and F11 and moderate stress in spawning grounds F8, F9, and F10. This stress is thought to be linked to an accumulation of organic matter. The analysis of the HBI based on the family showed values ranging from 6.98 to 7.73, indicating organic pollution of the spawning grounds ranging from “poor” to “very poor”.

 

CONCLUSIONS

The assessment of the ecological quality of fish spawning grounds based on the presence of benthic macroinvertebrates has highlighted the poor quality of the water in Lake Buyo. The presence of large quantities of pollution-resistant benthic organisms such as Thiaridae and Chironomidae indicates that the waters of the spawning grounds were subject to organic pollution. This poor quality reflects very high ecological stress on spawning fish, which reduces fish production. This deterioration in water quality would be affected by the closing and opening of the turbine gates, causing the water to rise and fall, which would have a harmful effect aquatic biodiversity. Therefore, manage-ment of the turbine gates was necessary to reduce and prevent organic pollution.

 

Author contributions: Conceptualization: BIM; Methodology and analysis: SM; Data curation and writing: BIM, SM, CL. Review: CL; Supervision of all aspects of the work: NKG. All authors declare that they have read and approved the publication of the manuscript in this present form.

Funding: This study is part of a research project entitled “Fish spawning sites in Lake Buyo in Taï National Park (south-western Côte d’Ivoire): identification and characterization”. The project was funded by the Strategic Support Program for Scientific Research in Côte d’Ivoire (PASRES) and the Ivorian Office of Parks and Reserves (OIPR).

Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank PASRES and OIPR for their financial and logistical support during the sampling work.

Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

 

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