Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish <i>Synodontis membranaceus</i> (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria

Atile John I.; Shima Judith N.; Akombo Pauline M.

doi:doi:10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11

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Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria

Atile John I., Shima Judith N., Akombo Pauline M.

Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 5, Issue 4)

Received: 7 March 2016 Accepted: 25 March 2016 Published: 13 July 2016

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Abstract

Food and Feeding, length-weight and condition factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus from the Lower Benue River at Makurdi, Nigeria, was studied for 12- month period from July, 2013 to June, 2014. A total number of 202 specimens, comprising of 101 males and 101 females at a ratio of 1:1 were studied. The Length-Weight Relationship (LWR), correlation coefficient (r) for all males and females were highly positive and significant at (P<0.01), with r values of 0.972 for males, 0.899 for females and 0.952 for combined sexes. The mean b values (regression coefficient) were 2.68 in all the males, 2.46 in all the females and 2.63 in combined sexes indicating that all the sexes had negative allometric growth pattern. The mean condition factor (K) for both sexes ranged from 2.21-3.35. The lowest K range (1.81) for males was observed in July, 2013 while the highest K range (3.05) was observed in April, 2014. Similarly, the lowest K range (1.83) for females was observed in August, 2013 with the highest K range of 3.14 in the same month. Out of the 202 stomachs examined, only 9 males (8.91%) and 5 females (4.95%) had empty stomachs, about 91.09% of males and 95.0% of females had varied quantities of food items in their stomachs. Synodontis membranaceus in the Lower Benue River was found to be omnivorous, feeding on food items, which included artificial meal, plant remains, variety of algae, insect parts and larvae, bivalves (Molluscs), crustaceans, protozoa, worms, detritus, sand particles and mud and many unidentified quantities of food items.

Published in	Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 5, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11
Page(s)	87-96
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Synodontis membranaceus, Food, Feeding, Lower Benue River

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Atile John I., Shima Judith N., Akombo Pauline M. (2016). Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 5(4), 87-96. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11

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Atile John I.; Shima Judith N.; Akombo Pauline M. Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria. Agric. For. Fish. 2016, 5(4), 87-96. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11

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Atile John I., Shima Judith N., Akombo Pauline M. Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria. Agric For Fish. 2016;5(4):87-96. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11

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@article{10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11,
  author = {Atile John I. and Shima Judith N. and Akombo Pauline M.},
  title = {Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria},
  journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
  volume = {5},
  number = {4},
  pages = {87-96},
  doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20160504.11},
  abstract = {Food and Feeding, length-weight and condition factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus from the Lower Benue River at Makurdi, Nigeria, was studied for 12- month period from July, 2013 to June, 2014. A total number of 202 specimens, comprising of 101 males and 101 females at a ratio of 1:1 were studied. The Length-Weight Relationship (LWR), correlation coefficient (r) for all males and females were highly positive and significant at (PSynodontis membranaceus in the Lower Benue River was found to be omnivorous, feeding on food items, which included artificial meal, plant remains, variety of algae, insect parts and larvae, bivalves (Molluscs), crustaceans, protozoa, worms, detritus, sand particles and mud and many unidentified quantities of food items.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria
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AB  - Food and Feeding, length-weight and condition factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus from the Lower Benue River at Makurdi, Nigeria, was studied for 12- month period from July, 2013 to June, 2014. A total number of 202 specimens, comprising of 101 males and 101 females at a ratio of 1:1 were studied. The Length-Weight Relationship (LWR), correlation coefficient (r) for all males and females were highly positive and significant at (PSynodontis membranaceus in the Lower Benue River was found to be omnivorous, feeding on food items, which included artificial meal, plant remains, variety of algae, insect parts and larvae, bivalves (Molluscs), crustaceans, protozoa, worms, detritus, sand particles and mud and many unidentified quantities of food items.
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Author Information

Atile John I.

Department of Biological Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria
Shima Judith N.

Department of Biological Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria
Akombo Pauline M.

Department of Biological Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria

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APA Style

Atile John I., Shima Judith N., Akombo Pauline M. (2016). Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 5(4), 87-96. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11

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Atile John I.; Shima Judith N.; Akombo Pauline M. Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria. Agric. For. Fish. 2016, 5(4), 87-96. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11

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AMA Style

Atile John I., Shima Judith N., Akombo Pauline M. Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria. Agric For Fish. 2016;5(4):87-96. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11

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@article{10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11,
  author = {Atile John I. and Shima Judith N. and Akombo Pauline M.},
  title = {Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria},
  journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
  volume = {5},
  number = {4},
  pages = {87-96},
  doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20160504.11},
  abstract = {Food and Feeding, length-weight and condition factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus from the Lower Benue River at Makurdi, Nigeria, was studied for 12- month period from July, 2013 to June, 2014. A total number of 202 specimens, comprising of 101 males and 101 females at a ratio of 1:1 were studied. The Length-Weight Relationship (LWR), correlation coefficient (r) for all males and females were highly positive and significant at (PSynodontis membranaceus in the Lower Benue River was found to be omnivorous, feeding on food items, which included artificial meal, plant remains, variety of algae, insect parts and larvae, bivalves (Molluscs), crustaceans, protozoa, worms, detritus, sand particles and mud and many unidentified quantities of food items.},
 year = {2016}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Food and Feeding, Length-Weight and Condition Factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus (EtieneGeoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Osteichthyes: Mochokidae) from Lower Benue River, Makurdi, Nigeria
AU  - Atile John I.
AU  - Shima Judith N.
AU  - Akombo Pauline M.
Y1  - 2016/07/13
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11
T2  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
JF  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
JO  - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
SP  - 87
EP  - 96
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5648
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20160504.11
AB  - Food and Feeding, length-weight and condition factor of the Catfish Synodontis membranaceus from the Lower Benue River at Makurdi, Nigeria, was studied for 12- month period from July, 2013 to June, 2014. A total number of 202 specimens, comprising of 101 males and 101 females at a ratio of 1:1 were studied. The Length-Weight Relationship (LWR), correlation coefficient (r) for all males and females were highly positive and significant at (PSynodontis membranaceus in the Lower Benue River was found to be omnivorous, feeding on food items, which included artificial meal, plant remains, variety of algae, insect parts and larvae, bivalves (Molluscs), crustaceans, protozoa, worms, detritus, sand particles and mud and many unidentified quantities of food items.
VL  - 5
IS  - 4
ER  -

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