Distribution and diversity of freshwater snails of public health importance in Kubanni reservoir and weir/sediment trap, Zaria, Nigeria

Abstract

Abdullahi Bala Alhassan, Abdulsalam Abidemi, Ibrahim Madu Katsallah Gadzama, Ramatu Idris Shaaba, Yunusa Adamu Wada, Rasiq Kelassanthodi

Due to survival of intermediate hosts of parasites causing schistosomiasis and fascioli-asis under changing environmental conditions, this research was conducted to investi-gate the distribution and diversity of freshwater snails between March and June, 2017. Physicochemical parameters were analyzed according to the standard operating proce-dures for the examination of water and wastewater. Snails were sampled using an Ekman grab from different sites in each reservoir, counted and identified using standard iden-tification guide. A total of 108 snails were collected and identified in Kubanni reservoir comprising Biomphalaria sp. (48.15%), Lymnaea sp. (39.81%), and Bulinus sp. (12.04%), whereas in Weir, 141 snails which comprised Biomphalaria sp. (53.19%), Lymnaea sp. (24.11%), and Bulinus sp. (22.70%) were collected. Shannon–Weiner diversity index for Kubanni and Weir were 0.97 and 1.02, respectively. The variation in physicochemical parameters between the reservoirs shows no significant difference (p > 0.05), except for electrical conductivity (p = 0.0015), total dissolved solid (p = 0.0016), biochemical oxygen demand (p = 0.0004), and concentration of phosphate (PO4; p = 0.026). The three snail species obtained were common to the two reservoirs; however, species diversity was higher in Weir than Kubanni reservoir. The presence of these snails in the two reservoirs could pose a serious threat to humans coming in contact with these reservoirs, in their role as intermediate hosts of parasites that cause schistosomiasis and fascioliasis.