Periphyton Associated with <i>Nymphaea lotus</i> Linn. in Two Different Types of Freshwater Bodies in Southern Ghana

Abstract

The periphyton communities associated with Nymphaea lotus Linn. in two different freshwater bodies, the Kpong head-pond and Odaw stream, both in southern Ghana, were studied. Twenty-eight genera of algae, belonging to five phyla (Chlorophyta, Cryptophyta, Crysophyta, Cyanophyta and Euglenophyta) were observed. The Cyanophyta and the Chlorophyta, respectively, dominated the population in the Kpong head-pond and the Odaw stream. A far greater population of diatoms family (Bacillariophyceae) was found in the Odaw stream than in the Kpong head pond.