UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Effect of Agricultural Runoff on Aquatic Health of River Ethiope, Delta State, Nigeria

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.4314/jasem.v29i10.20

Authors

Ovie Kingsley Awhefeada · Emuesiri Akpomughe · N. P. Okpu · Betty Omoariagbon Bekederemo

Reported year

2025

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.959264+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:09:16.171948+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

Delta State University · Southern Delta University, Ozoro

Reported affiliation countries

NG

Documentary abstract — original language

The objective of this paper was to assess the effect of agricultural runoff on the aquatic health of River Ethiope, Delta State, Nigeria, by integrating physicochemical, nutrient, heavy metal, and biological analyses with socio-economic surveys using appropriate standard procedures with Questionnaire surveys of 120 respondents complemented environmental monitoring. Results revealed significant spatial variation, with the middle course (S2), adjacent to intensive farmlands, exhibiting the most degraded conditions. Nitrate (6.12 mg/L) and phosphate (1.84 mg/L) peaked at S2, coinciding with lowest DO (5.53 mg/L). Pb (0.031 mg/L water; 22.8 mg/kg sediment) and Cd (0.009 mg/L water; 3.4 mg/kg sediment) were elevated, with sediment Pb exceeding sediment quality guidelines. Macroinvertebrate diversity declined at S2 (H′ = 1.82), dominated by pollution tolerant Chironomidae, while sensitive taxa were scarce. Community perceptions aligned with scientific findings: 80% observed increased turbidity, 67% reported fish scarcity, and 70% farmed within 10 m of the riverbank, though only 35% recognized agriculture as a pollution source. Correlation analysis confirmed strong linkages between agricultural land use, nutrient enrichment, heavy metal contamination, and biodiversity loss. The study concludes that agricultural runoff is a major driver of water quality deterioration and ecological decline in River Ethiope and provides the first integrated ecological and socio-economic assessment of runoff impacts on River Ethiope, offering evidence-based insights for sustainable watershed management in the Niger Delta.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W4416593501

DOI

10.4314/jasem.v29i10.20

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

NG

Natural entities mentioned

River · Watershed

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v29i10.20
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W4416593501

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

• openalex:w4391444831 · CITES
• openalex:w4413302435 · CITES

0 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.