Phytogeographical Distribution and Fruit Diversity of <i>Lagenaria siceraria</i>Species in Nigeria

Phytogeographical distribution and fruit diversity of Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl species in Nigeria were accessed. Information on the distribution and fruit diversity was sourced from three herbaria, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria Herberia, University of Port Harcourt Herberia and the University of Ibadan Herberia. A field survey across fifteen states in Nigeria namely Kaduna, Kano, Plateau, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, Bayelsa and Enugu, Ebonyi, Ondo, Ogun, Kwara Anambra and Rivers State. A total of twenty-four fruit shapes were accessed. The diversity of fruit shapes across the geographical regions of Nigeria shows that the Guinea savannah has all the twenty-four different landraces represented, while Tropical rain forest has nineteen, Sudan savannah has seventeen and Freshwater swamp and the Saltwater swamp has eleven different fruit shapes respectively. The fruits of Lagenaria siceraria (Mol) Standl is considered a topocline since it is not affected only by environmental factors but possess a wide distribution pattern across the geographical regions of Nigeria.

Oil and Gas Pipeline Construction-Induced Forest Fragmentation and Biodiversity Loss in the Niger Delta, Nigeria

The impacts of oil and gas pipeline construction on the forest and biodiversity in parts of the Niger Delta was investigated. This was achieved by studying the construction activities and operational phases of two pipelines with cumulative length of 165 km vis-à-vis the biodiversity of the affected area. The study involved field sampling along the RoWs to inventorize the fauna and flora, visual assessments and interview with locals. It was observed that the pipelines traversed moist lowland/freshwater swamp and mangrove forests, and barrier islands with approximately 4,950,000 m2 (equivalent of 495 hectares) of forest cleared and 9,642,000 trees killed to realize the pipelines. A total of 219 plant species in 66 families and 125 different fauna species from 64 families were recorded in these areas. Three out of the 4 recorded species of Meliaceae were threatened based on IUCN Conservation Status. Also based on IUCN Conservation Status, 20 mammals, including Pan troglodytes, Cercopithecus erythrogaster and Trichechus senegalensis, 7 birds, 2 reptiles and 1 amphibian were within threatened group. The results showed that the study area had witnessed colossal loss of biodiversity due to habitat displacement, forest fragmentation and deforestation, and escalated exploitation of species. The study identified the most affected biodiversity, and proffered measures to mitigate such occurrences.

Climate Study of Owerri and Comparative Analysis of Different Methods of Base Factor Computation

This study analyzed three decades of the temperature and rainfall data of Owerri, South Eastern Nigeria and in the process carried out a comparative analysis of using three different methods namely the mean, median and jackknife to derive the base data upon which the anomalies are computed with a view to ascertaining if any significant differences exist in the obtained results. And for rainfall which is seasonal, a further z-score method was employed to remove the effect of seasonality by dividing the anomalies with its standard deviation. Linear regression analysis was used to interpret the anomaly plots and the trend in climate from 1986 to 2015 in Owerri extracted. For the temperature analysis, the mean and median methods gave similar result which makes the mean method an acceptable method due to its simplicity, taking cognizance of the heavy computation in the other methods. Interestingly, for the rainfall analysis, the mean and jackknife methods gave the same result which also makes the mean method acceptable to avoid the heavy computations of the other two. ANOVA on the anomalies so derived showed no significant difference in their mean, thus underpinning the choice of the mean method. Using the outcome of the mean method therefore, the analyzed mean minimum temperature and mean maximum temperature indicate that the night time temperature has increased in Owerri within the period under consideration by 0.0186&#176C each year and the daytime temperature increased by 0.01&#176C per year respectively, thus indicating that a warming climate change has taken place in Owerri. Within the same period, the rate for rainfall on the other hand showed a decrease. In summary, the simple mean method of base computation suffices over the median and jackknife methods in climate studies for Owerri, a trend of warming climate has taken place in Owerri with increases in both daytime and night temperatures but with a reverse trend in rainfall which will require further inquiry.

Bioinformatics a Tool for Biosystematics Studies of <i>Lagenaria siceraria</i>(Mol.) Standl. Complex

Bioinformatics has been a major tool in the revolution of plant systematics in recent times. The diversity of fruit shapes in Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) standl. species has been of great concern because of its fruit complexity. This study is based on the application of rubisco enzyme using rbcL marker because of its conservativeness and its ability to discriminate below the specific level hence its usage to sequence the chloroplast genome with ABI, PRISM 377 DNA sequencer. The sequences obtained were viewed using MEGA X software and subsequently subjected to validation through National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) using Nucleotide Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST N). The result obtained showed that all the sequences belong to Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) standl. with percentages ranging from 95% to 100% for query cover sequences and 98% to 100% for identity sequences. From the taxonomic report obtained sequence A, C, G, H, J, Q has the highest hits of 44 on Lagenaria siceraria out of 109 total value, sequence O and R has the highest hits of 44 on Lagenaria siceraria out of the total value of 111, sequence V has the highest hits of 44 on Lagenaria siceraria out of 119 total value and sequence X finally has the highest value hits of 44 on Lagenaria sceriania out of 105 total value, based on this report, phylogenetic tree was constructed to show the level of relatedness of the different fruit diversity of L. siceraria complex. This work therefore has aided in the molecular characterization of Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) standl. landraces found in Nigeria.

Assessment and Trend of Land Cover Land Use Changes in Owerri and Environs, South Eastern Nigeria

This study examined land cover and land use changes (LCLUC) in Owerri and environs from 1986 to 2016 and went further to determine the trend in the change of each LCLUC class. The satellite imagery of the area over the three decades was characterized into the different LCLUC classes and the changes in the areal extent of the different LCLUC classes were calculated and plotted, followed with the estimation of the trend?using?linear regression analysis method. The result?revealed that over the three decades, forests and sparse vegetation respectively decreased at a rate of 0.73% and 0.05% of the total land area per year while built up areas increased?almost equally in the opposite direction at a rate of 0.65% of the total land area per year. Open spaces and water bodies decreased at the rate of 0.11% and 0.02% of the total land area respectively which were as a result of the pressure for resources like land and sand for built infrastructure.?A model was derived for the LCLUC and it revealed that Owerri and environs may be devoid of vegetal cover in about 2 decades (2039) if the current rate of conversion of forests to built-up infrastructure is not abated.?This whole LCLUC scenario if not controlled may trigger changes in the local climate of the area and urgent steps are therefore needed to create awareness to all the stakeholders?in the area?on the need for sustainable land and natural resources use, tree planting, urban spatial plan and controls in order to safeguard the environment, ecosystem and climate of the area for the future.