Ecology and growth of the Shellfish, Tympanotonus fuscatus Linnaeus 1758 in the Mangrove Swamp of Warri River, Nigeria

Abstract

The ecology and growth of the shellfish, Tympanotonus fuscatus was studied in a mangrove swamp of the Warri River, Abiotic and Biotic factors such as temperature, salinity, hydrogen ion concentration, nature of substrate, associated fauna and flora, micro – habitat were investigated.  Weight/Length relationship of the shellfish was measured to determine the growth rate.  Results showed a low range (27.5°C – 31.0°C) in temperature variation and high range (0.3% - 7.1%) in salinity variation, while pH values were between 6.5 – 7.8.  The substrate consists of 50% peat particles which is due to the effect of the root system of the white mangrove, Avacennia Africana that is associated with the environment.  Weight/Length relationship showed that the growth is negatively allometric which implies that the weight increases faster than the length.