23 Kas 2024 Cumartesi
Study on arthropods associated with some local bakeries in Uyo metropolis, Akwa Ibom State Nigeria
Abstract : Arthropods are the little things that run the world which have much tremendous impact in environment, human activities and health. They form an important part of functional ecosystem as herbivores, detrivores, predators, pollinators or vectors of diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the abundance and diversity of arthropods associated with some local bakeries within Uyo Metropolis. Four sampling areas were randomly selected: Use Offot (Sweet mother), Anua (Panini bakery), Abak Road (Happy home bakery) and Edet Akpan Avenue (Redeemer’s bakery). The study lasted for three months starting from September to November, 2023. Insects were collected using sweep net and hand-picking. Morphological identification was done using insect taxonomic keys. A total of 2416 arthropods specimens were captured belonging to six orders: Hymenoptera, Arachnidea, Blattodea, Diptera, Odonata and Lepidoptera. In the month of September, Happy Home Bakery accounted for the highest number of insects species (191), followed by Redeemer’s Bakery (182), Sweet Mother Bakery (174) and Panini (172) in a descending order. In October, Happy Home Bakery had (285), Panini had (284), Redeemer’s bakery (264), Sweet mother (261) in a descending order. In November, Panini had (163), Sweet mother (148), Happy Home (148), Redeemer’s bakery (144) in a descending order. Result showed that Happy Home Bakery had the most abundant number of arthropods from the month of September and October probably due to abundance of rainfall. In general, order Diptera (Housefly) accounted for the most abundant with a total of 876, followed by Hymenoptera (ants) (771), Blattodea (Cockroach) (339), Arachnida (spiders) (177), Odonata (dragon fly) (126) and Coleoptera (beetle) (121). The Shanon wiener diversity index (H) and Simpsons diversity index (D) were both high in Redeemer’s bakery making this loacation stand out as the most diverse. The Sorenson’s similarity index (CC) gave a significant overlap and similarities between the two communities compared. There were no arthropods found in Pastini (P) that was not available in Sweet mother (S) bakeries i.e the compared sites. Sorenson’s coefficient gave values between 0 and 1; the closer the value is to 1, the more the communities have in common. The abundance of the insects is related to how hygienic/unhygienic the bakery environment is and the presence of moisture and improper disposal of waste around the bakeries. Therefore, agencies concern and State Government should ensure cleanliness within and around the premises by regular inspection.