Investigation into the spatial occurrence of wet season phytoplankton and zooplankton in Lagos lagoon, Nigeria was carried out in October, 2008 in 12 stations. A total of 36 species of phytoplankton from 21 genera, 20 zooplankton species from 17 genera and 10 juvenile forms were recorded for the study. The results showed that freshwater conditions within the lagoon were due to high freshwater inflow from adjoining waterways and reduced tidal incursion from the sea. The wet season spectrum of the lagoon was dominated by diatoms for the phytoplankton and copepods for the zooplankton. The presence and array of juvenile forms in the wet season suggest that the lagoon remain a sanctuary, nursery and breeding grounds for aquatic species Crustaceans dominated the spectrum of the juvenile forms.
Investigations were carried out on spatial and seasonal composition and distributions of phytoplankton in some parts of the Lagos Lagoon. Phytoplankton samples were collected from twelve stations during the wet (July, 2008) and dry (March, 2009) seasons. A typical freshwater condition prevailed in the study area during wet season with salinity of 0 parts per thousand (o / oo) at every station, whereas during the dry season, relatively high salinity levels were recorded from all the stations with decreasing trend toward the river mouth. The two seasons had the diatoms (Bacillariophytes) of the Orders Centrales and Pennales as the dominant phytoplankton taxa. A total of 2896 phytoplankton belonging to twenty-seven species, eight orders and four classes were recorded during wet season while the dry season had a total of 1550 phytoplankton, which cut across sixteen species, three orders and two classes. Wet and dry seasons respectively had Aulacoseira granulata and Coscinodiscus sps. as the dominant phytoplankton taxa. Higher dominance (0.33) and Margalef diversity (3.26) but lower Shanon-Wiener diversity (1.94) and evenness of distribution (0.26) indices were recorded during the wet than dry seasons. The findings show the influence of seasonality on phytoplankton composition and distributions in the Lagos Lagoon and suggest relatively stress-free environmental conditions within the study area.
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