Floristic Diversity and Ecological Characterization of the Habitat of Crocodylus suchus in the Niger River in the Niamey Region
Ibrahim MADOUGOU *
Laboratoire d’Écologie et Biologie Animale, Université de Diffa, Quartier Doubaï, BP : 78 Diffa, Niger.
MOUSSA Soulé
Faculté des Sciences et Techniques (FST), Université Dan Dicko Dankoulodo de Maradi (UDDM), BP : 465 Maradi, Niger.
Issa ALHOU AMOUDE
Laboratoire d’Écologie et Environnement, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques et Écologiques (FSAE), Université de Diffa, Quartier Doubaï, BP : 78 Diffa, Niger and Laboratoire de Gestion et Valorisation de la Biodiversité au Sahel (GevaBioS)/Garba Mounkaila, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques (FAST), Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, BP : 10662 Niamey, Niger.
Abdoulaye AMADOU OUMANI
Faculté d’Agronomie et des Sciences de l’Environnement (FASE), Université Dan Dicko Dankoulodo de Maradi (UDDM), BP : 465 Maradi, Niger.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Sustainable management of freshwater reptiles in West Africa Sahel is affected by great data scarcity, regional data gaps mostly about the crocodile’s species like Crocodylus suchus. Thus, this study addresses these gaps by determining the floristic diversity and characterizing the habitat of Crocodylus suchus in the Niger River in the Niamey region. We used a systematic random sampling for the floristic inventory using the Brun-Blanquet method. We recorded 58 plant species belong 22 families and 43 genera with a predominance of Eichhornia crassipes (12.32%) and Echinochloa stagnina (12.42%) which varies significantly across the area (P < 0.05). The others have a frequency of 5% or less. Approximately 40 species have a low frequency, with a percentage less than 1%. The macrophytes are 58.54% dicotyledons and 41.46% monocotyledons. The most represented families are Poaceae (29.76%), Convolvulaceae (16.10%), followed by Pontederaceae and Cucurbitaceae at 13.41% and 12.93%, respectively. Ecosystem classification based on species richness revealed two distinct groups of habitats, with similarities between the islands and the right bank. The results also showed that the observation frequency and cumulative mean cover of species vary very significantly across the area (P< 2.2e-16). Dominant species such as Echinochloa stagnina, Mimosa pigra and Eichhornia crassipes have high cover at 1.95%, 1.86%, and 1.33%, respectively. The dominant families are represented by stable and prolific species, with an abundance of prolific species in the Convolvulaceae family. This study has characterized the floristic diversity of the crocodile habitat, highlighting the dominant species and plant communities present. Further research would be useful to better understand the environmental factors and ecological processes that influence the floristic composition and structure of plant communities in this habitat. Management and conservation strategies could be developed to maintain biological diversity and prevent negative impacts on the ecosystem, taking these results into account.
Keywords: Biodiversity, Crocodylus suchus, freshwater habitat, Niger River