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The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 49 (2023) 507–512
Available online 10 November 2023
1687-4285/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries. This is an open access article under
the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Full length article
Applying various indices to evaluate the effects of fertilizer discharges on
zooplankton biodiversity and water quality of Ismailia Canal, Egypt
Marian G. Nassif
a
,
*
, Amany S. Amer
b
a
National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, NIOF, Egypt
b
Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring (CLEQM), National Water Research Center (NWRC), Egypt
ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:
Water quality indices
CCME WQI
CCA
Zooplankton community structure,
zooplankton biodiversity
Ismailia Canal
ABSTRACT
One of the most useful water streams in Egypt is the Ismailia Canal. However, despite its signicance, numerous
factories discharge their waste into the canal, causing a drastic decrease in its water quality and fauna. In this
respect, this study aims to evaluate the negative impact of fertilizer discharge on community structure,
zooplankton biodiversity, and water quality in the Ismailia Canal. Four stations were selected, where the Ca-
nadian Water Quality Index and the Metal Index were used to determine the point source of contamination at
each station. As revealed in the Canadian WQI results, Stations (3) and (4) have marginal water quality, but no
metal pollution was shown in the Metal Index results of the study area. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis
(CCA) was also applied. The zooplankton community structure and biodiversity were examined, where their total
density recorded an average of 598,854 ind./m
3
. Nineteen zooplankton species—belonging to the groups:
Rotifera, Cladocera, Copepoda, and Nematoda—were identied. Rotifera was predominant, representing 97.05%
of the total zooplankton density. Although Station (3) had the highest diversity index, there was a special
abundance of organic matter bio-indicators. That is why mandatory laws and management plans had to be
enforced to mitigate the canal deterioration.
Introduction
A great deal of effort is always needed to achieve the best possible
water quality, given the crucial importance of water to maintaining life.
Natural ecosystems that enable food production, biodiversity, and
human health have been destroyed by water contamination. The Nile
River is Egypt’s main artery, while the Ismailia Canal is one of its
principal tributaries. It provides a large population residing in Shubra al-
Kheima, Mattaria, Musturod, Abu-Zaabal, Inchas, Belbeis, Abbasa, Abu-
Hammad, Zagazeeg, and al-Tell al-Kabier with water supply (Geriesh
et al., 2008).
The physico-chemical properties and heavy metals of the canal were
studied by Abdel Razeq et al. (2013), Goher et al. (2014), Ibrahim et al.
(2014), Ahmad and Hanafy (2017), and Abu-Zaid et al. (2020). El-Rawy
et al. (2020) also integrated remote sensing data and eld data to study
the Ismailia Canal water quality. Their results revealed that the dis-
charges by factories along the canal negatively affected the water
quality, and thus they recommend applying a feasible management plan.
Furthermore, Ibrahim and El-Haddad (2021) monitored the Ismailia
Canal water quality by using GIS techniques and conrmed that the
water quality in front of the Fertilizers Company discharge shall not be
used for irrigation purposes. The water quality of Ismailia Canal was
evaluated using a variety of indices via Agrama (2022), who came to the
conclusion that while it is currently adequate, the inuence of industrial
efuents may cause it to become critically polluted in the future.
Despite the high signicance of the Ismailia Canal for being the only
source of water in the region, its zooplankton community which is a
primary food source for sh has not been extensively studied. Only the
community structure of the aquatic invertebrates in the Ismailia Canal
was examined by Nassif (2012), while Khalifa (2014) investigated the
impact of the canal’s physical and chemical features on the population
dynamics of rotifers. Hence, this investigation aims to evaluate how
fertilizer discharges affect the biodiversity and community structure of
zooplankton as the foremost organisms in the food web and also to
evaluate the quality of canal water properties.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: george.marian@hotmail.com (M.G. Nassif).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ejar
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejar.2023.11.001
Received 23 July 2023; Received in revised form 19 September 2023; Accepted 1 November 2023
The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 49 (2023) 507–512
508
Materials and Methods
Canal description and characteristics
The Ismailia Canal was built to deliver fresh water from the Nile
River in North Cairo—particularly from al-Mezalat—to Ismailia, Port
Said, and Suez governorates. The canal’s average length is 128 km, 2.1
m depth, and 18 m wide according to Abdo et al. (2010). The inlet of the
canal starts from the Nile River at Shubra, al-Mezalat, Cairo, owing
directly to Ismailia where it splits into two branches. The rst is directed
to feed Port Said governorate, while the second is directed to Suez town.
The total area surrounding the canal is about 45,444 ha and it supplies
about 5,000,000 m
3
/day for drinking, irrigation, and industrial pur-
poses (Nassif, 2012).
Study area
Four stations were selected to represent the inlet of the canal. Station
(1) acted as a reference station, while the three other stations repre-
sented the impact of the Fertilizers Company discharging nutrients, e.g.,
phosphates, sulphates, and nitrates. Stations (2), (3), and (4) were
selected as 1 km before the company, in front of the company mixing
point, and 1 km after the company, respectively (Fig. 1).
Sampling procedures
During the hot season of August 2022 and the cold season of
February 2023, water and zooplankton samples were captured from the
Ismailia Canal. The sampling was conducted according to the Standard
Methods for Examination of Water and Waste Water (APHA, 2005).
Samples analysis
Abiotic factors
Water temperature, EC, pH, and TDS were measured in the eld by
using the multi-probe portable meter: WTW Model Oxi 197. Anions and
cations were measured per sample by the Ion Chromatography System.
Heavy metals were determined in the laboratory by ICP-OES, Perki-
nElmer Optima-3000 Redial (APHA, 2005).
Biotic factors
Zooplankton samples. A 55-µ zooplankton net was used in each site to
lter 30 L of subsurface water. Formalin solution (5 %) was then applied
for preservation. A 1-ml subsample of each sample was counted by using
the Sedgewick-Rafter cell and then examined under an inverted micro-
scope. Each sample underwent this procedure three times, and the
average values were then determined and expressed as ind./m
3
(APHA,
2005).
Statistical analysis
The Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’) was calculated by using
Primer 5 software, while the similarity between the zooplankton com-
munities was determined by using the Bray-Curtis Index. The similarity
dendrogram was computed by Primer 5. Canonical Corresponding
Analysis (CCA) was applied to determine the relationships between
different environmental factors and zooplankton species and draw a
simple illustration graph by using Canoco 5 software.
Water quality Index (WQI)
For the rst time, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Envi-
ronment Water Quality Index (CCME WQI) was applied to the Ismailia
Canal to summarize water quality values and provide accessible infor-
mation to decision-makers, experts, as well as the public. The CCME
WQI was computed by using Microsoft Excel 2010 according to the
standards of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP)
and the United States Public Health Service (USPHS).
The CCME WQI is calculated as follows:
CCME WQI =100 −
F12+F22+F32
√
1.732
where
F
1
: is the scope F
1
=No.offailedvariables
TotalNo.ofvariablesX100
F
2
: is the frequency F
2
=No.offailedtests
TotalNo.oftestsX100
F
3
: is the amplitude F
3
=nse
0.01nse+0.01
Excursion
i
=Failedtestvaluei
Objectivei −1
nse =n
i=1excursion
No.oftests
The WQI scores were subsequently converted into ranks according to
the scheme shown in Table 1. Through this procedure, the CCME WQI
transforms raw water quality (WQ) data into a straightforward under-
standing of whether public water is excellent, good, fair, marginal, or poor.
Metal Index (MI)
Following the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) (2007) and
Ministerial Decree No. 49 of Law 48 of 1982, the Metals Pollution Index
(MI) was used to calculate the heavy metals pollution amount that af-
fects public health in the Ismailia Canal, where heavy metal pollution is
signaled by a MI value greater than 1.
Fig. 1. A map illustrates Ismailia Canal sampling stations.
M.G. Nassif and A.S. Amer
The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 49 (2023) 507–512
509
According to Tamasi and Cini (2004), the MI is calculated as follows:
Metal Index (MI) =
n
i=1
Ci
(MAC)i
where
Ci: the concentration of i heavy metal MAC: Maximum allowed
concentration of i heavy metal.
Results and discussion
Water quality characterization
Table 2 compares the obtained results and ranges to the Egyptian
guidelines. The results revealed a slight variation in water temperature,
with no signicant thermal impact by the company on the canal water.
In this study, temperature positively correlated with calcium, uoride,
phosphates, and vanadium, but negatively correlated with EC, TDS,
potassium, chloride, copper, strontium, and zinc. For pH values, nearly
no spatial variation was observed; however, there was a slight seasonal
variation where the hot season recorded higher values than the cold
season. This result came in agreement with that of Abdel-Satar (2005).
The pH values exhibited a strong negative correlation with BOD, COD,
Mg, and most of the zooplankton species. For EC values, there was
limited spatial variation and slight seasonal variation. Although TDS
values revealed slight variation, Station (3) exhibited the highest value
of 270 mg/l in the cold season. In general, the cold season showed higher
values than the hot season. This is attributed to the decay of most mi-
croorganisms during the cold season, leading to an increase in TDS and
EC (Abdo and El-Nasharty, 2010).
BOD and COD values appeared in acceptable ranges. However during
summer, BOD levels were high at stations 3 and 4 (6 and 7 mg/l,
respectively), and COD levels were 8 and 9 mg/l, respectively. Sulphates
and BOD values both showed a signicant positive correlation.
Regarding major cations, Ca showed no signicant spatial variation
and Ca values were generally higher in the cold season. Similar results
were previously recorded by Abdo and El-Nasharty (2010) and Nassif
(2012). Magnesium showed slight spatial and seasonal variations. The
lowest values of both calcium and magnesium appeared during the hot
season due to their adsorption onto the clay bottom when the temper-
ature increased (El Bourie, 2008). No signicant variations in sodium
and potassium values were observed, except at Station (4) where the
highest sodium value of 27 mg/l was recorded in the hot season, and
Station (1) where an exceptionally high potassium value of 20 mg/l was
also recorded in the hot season. In addition, chloride revealed its highest
values of 27.15 mg/l and 26.38 mg/l at Station (1) in the hot and cold
seasons, respectively.
Moreover, uoride showed its greatest levels of 1.46 mg/l and 0.71
mg/l at Station (3) during the hot and cold seasons, respectively. Low
levels of 0.2 mg/l for both NO
2
and Br were found in the canal. NO
3
values were less than 0.2 mg/l in hot and cold seasons, except at Station
(2) where NO
3
recorded 0.43 mg/l during the hot season. The effect of
fertilizers at Stations (3) and (4) was extremely clear in phosphate re-
sults, whose maximum concentration of 1.87 mg/l appeared at Station
(3) during the hot season. Phosphates revealed a strong positive corre-
lation with Copepoda and Nematoda, a result that was previously
proved by Nassif (2012) and Abdel Razeq et al. (2013). Sulphates
showed their highest values at Stations (3) and (4), with an annual
average of 27.18 mg/l and 28.35 mg/l, respectively. The same results
were recorded by Elewa et al. (2001), and Abdo and El-Nasharty (2010).
Goher et al. (2014) also referred to the high nutrient salts to the efuents
of the Fertilizers Company. Sulphates results revealed a strong positive
correlation with most rotifer species, Cladocera, Nauplius larvae, and
generally with all recorded zooplankton species.
The concentrations of recorded heavy metals are shown in Table 2.
All detected heavy metals appeared at their maximum values at Stations
(2), (3), and (4) as a result of fertilizer wastewater. In this study, anti-
mony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, magnesium, molyb-
denum, nickel, and selenium were under the detection limits of the ICP-
OES (0.005 mg/l).
Water Quality Index
According to MoHP recommendations, Ministerial Decree No. 49 of
Law 48 of 1982, and USPHS, the CCME WQI was applied for the rst
time on the Ismailia Canal. The WQI was calculated by using eight
different water quality metrics, namely pH, TDS, uoride, phosphates,
sulphates, chloride, COD, and BOD. Since the WQI depends on the
quantity of failed tests and parameters, Stations (1) and (2) fell within
the acceptable bounds set by Egypt. Their water quality was not calcu-
lated because they are classied as having excellent water quality.
Table 3 displays the scores of F
1
, F
2
, F
3
, and WQI for each station.
Table 1
The Water Quality Index schema according to Canadian Council of Ministers of
the Environment (CCME) (2001).
Rank WQI
Value
Description
Excellent 95–100 Water quality is protected with a virtual absence of threat
or impairment
Good 80–94 Water quality is protected with only a minor degree of
threat or impairment
Fair 65–79 Water quality is usually protected but occasionally
threatened or impaired
Marginal 45–64 Water quality is frequently threatened or impaired
Poor 0–44 Water quality is almost always threatened or impaired
Table 2
Average of physico-chemical parameters compared to regulations used in the
Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) (2007) and Act No. 49.
Average Range MoHP Act No. 49
Temperature 26.13 16.3–––36.8
pH 7.94 7.7–––8.1 6.5–8.5 6.5–8.5
EC 0.40 0.36–––0.42
TDS 252.88 230 – 270 1000.00 <500
BOD 4.58 2.0–––7.0 10.00
COD 6.00 2.0–––9.0 10.00
Cations and Anions
Ca 32.18 29.03–––36.57
Mg 11.42 10.44–––12.29
Na 25.61 24 – 27 200.00
K 6.59 4.4 – 20
F 0.65 0.38–––1.46
Cl 22.15 15.73–––27.15 250.00
NO
2
<0.2 <0.2
NO
3
0.23 0.2–––0.43 0.20 2.00
Br <0.2 <0.2 45.00
PO
4
0.63 0.2–––1.87
SO
4
26.91 22.72–––32.75 250.00 300.00
Heavy metals
Aluminium 0.07 0.05–––0.142 0.20
Barium 0.04 0.019–––0.066 0.70
Copper 0.02 0.009–––0.04 2.00 0.01
Iron 0.02 0.006–––0.039 0.30
Strontium 0.17 0.093–––0.26
Vanadium 0.01 <0.001–––0.006 —
Zinc 0.01 <0.005–––0.014 3.00 0.01
Table 3
Temporal variation of F1, F2, F3 and WQI Scores.
Stations F
1
F
2
F
3
WQI Score
Station 1 null null null Null
Station 2 null null null Null
Station 3 25 25 81.86 48.5
Station 4 12.5 12.5 68.36 59.2
M.G. Nassif and A.S. Amer
The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 49 (2023) 507–512
510
According to the CCME WQI Scheme (Table 1), Stations (3) and (4) are
classied as marginal water quality. The results demonstrated a low and
compromised quality of water, which is due to water drainage from the
Fertilizers Company. Goher et al. (2014) previously reported similar
ndings that the Ismailia Canal water quality uctuates from good to bad
for aquatic life and drinking. As indicated by the National Water Quality
Information System (NWQIS), the water quality status in the canal falls
within the moderate range set by Egyptian regulations (Habash &
Mahmoud, 2019). However, Ibrahim and El-Haddad (2021) did not
recommend using the water in front of the fertilizers company for irri-
gation purposes.
Metal Index (MI)
The Metal Index (MI) was used to calculate heavy metal pollution in
the Ismailia Canal. Despite that Stations (2), (3), and (4) recorded higher
MI values than Station (1), they are below the cutoff as shown in Table 4.
Based on MI results, fertilizers drainage source have no obvious inu-
ence on the canal.
Zooplankton density and community structure
In addition to 19 zooplankton taxa, uncharacterized larvae, cope-
podite stages, and free-living nematodes were all found during the ex-
amination. The zooplankton community in the Ismailia Canal is
comprised of Rotifera, Cladocera, Copepoda, and Nematoda, with an
average total density of 598,854 ind./m
3
. Rotifera was the most com-
mon group, representing 97.05 % of the total zooplankton density
(Fig. 2). This result comes in agreement with that found by Abdel Aziz
and Aboul Ezz (2004), Soliman (2005), and Bedair (2006). In addition,
Amer (2007) pointed out that zooplankton in rivers are often dominated
by small forms such as rotifers due to their short life cycle compared to
larger crustaceans, and also as a result of eutrophication that affects the
zooplankton composition from large species, such as Copepoda and
Cladocera, to smaller species, such as rotifers.
The density of the zooplankton population showed the highest value
of 1,408,083 ind./m
3
at Station (4) and the lowest of 195,000 ind./m
3
at
Station (1). Amer (2007) reported a similar nding and attributed it to
favorable conditions such as food abundance and preferred temperature.
Cooke et al. (2005) also concluded that rotifer abundance is often higher
in the presence of dissolved organic matter, which can be the reason
behind the highest zooplankton yields at Station (4). The principal
zooplankton mass, Keratella cochlearis (Goose, 1851), Polyarthra vulgaris
(Ehrenberg, 1834), and Brachionus calyciorus (Pallas, 1766), showed a
high positive association with BOD, COD, and SO
4
in the correlation
analysis. This further supports the claim that Stations (3) and (4) are
eutrophic. In terms of seasonal variance, the population density reached
its peak of 1,135,875 ind./m
3
in the cold season and declined to its fth-
lowest level of 61,833 ind./m
3
in the hot season. Such a result came in
agreement with what Amer (2007) speculated that planktivorous juve-
niles that mostly ingest zooplankton can be the main reason for lower
density rates during the hot season.
The current investigation revealed 17 rotifer species, where
K. cochlearis recorded the highest density, followed by P. vulgaris and
B. calyciorus with about 45.21 %, 22.09 %, and 11.10 % of the total
rotifer abundance, respectively. A similar nding was previously re-
ported by Nassif (2012) who identied 22 species of rotifers in the
Ismailia Canal, with the predominance of Polyarthra vulgaris (Ehrenberg,
1834), Collotheca pelgica (Rousselet, 1893), Trichocerca pusilla (Jennings,
1903), Keratella cochlearis (Goose, 1851), and Brachionus calyciorus
(Pallas, 1766). According to El-Shabrawy and Khalifa (2002), the
dominance of eutrophic indicators, e.g., B. calyciorus, P. vulgaris, and
K. cochlearis, explains why this sector of the Ismailia Canal is eutrophic
and polluted. Abdel Aziz and Aboul Ezz (2004) also pointed out that
most of the rotifers are represented as polysaprobic organisms that
inhabit a highly polluted ecosystem. In this study, a strong positive
correlation was observed between total rotifer population density and
BOD, COD, SO
4
, Na, and Al, where r =0.75, 0.98, 0.90, 0.76, and 0.77,
respectively. The CCA also indicated a strong relationship between BOD,
COD, and Al with K. tropica, K. valga, B. calyciorus, and
B. quadridentatus (Fig. 3).
Cladocera constituted 1.21 % of the total zooplankton density, where
only two species: Alona afnis (Leydig, 1860) and Bosmina longirostrus
(Mȕller, 1785), formed Cladocera with A. afnis representing 83.38 % of
its total density. Stations (4) and (3) accommodated the maximum
Cladocera population densities, with an average of 12,000 ind./m
3
and
10,500 ind./m
3
, respectively. Due to Cladocera’s preference for low
temperatures, the cold season recorded its highest population density of
12,917 ind./m
3
. El-Shabrawy and Khalifa (2002), Bedair (2006), and
Yousry (2009) reported similar results. According to the correlation
analysis, Cladocera had positive correlations with COD, Na, F, PO
4
, and
SO
4
, where r =0.68, 0.76, 0.75, 0.78, and 0.93, respectively. The
analysis revealed a strong positive correlation of B. longirostrus with BOD
and COD, where r =0.94 and 0.97, respectively. Accordingly,
B. longirostrus was proven as a pollution-tolerant and bioindicator spe-
cies of organic pollution. The CCA also revealed that SO
4
had the biggest
inuence on B. longirostrus distribution. Since B. longirostrus revealed its
maximum density of 4,000 ind./m
3
at Station (4), this highlights the
impact of fertilizer drainage water on the composition and distribution
of zooplankton populations.
Copepoda, which represented 1.06 % of the total zooplankton den-
sity, was composed of Nauplius larvae and copepodite stages. This was
previously revealed by Nassif (2012) in the same sector of the canal.
Studies by Bedair (2006) and Amer (2007) on zooplankton in the Nile
River also revealed similar results. Station (3) represented the highest
copepod density, followed by Station (4) at 14,000 ind./m
3
and 8,167
ind./m
3
, respectively. The cold season recorded the highest copepod
population density of 9,833 ind./m
3
. Nauplius larvae represented the
main bulk of Copepoda, representing 65.9 % of the total copepod den-
sity. According to CCA ndings (Fig. 3), the distribution of Nauplius
larvae was correlated with PO
4
. As apparent from the correlation test,
Nauplius larvae positively correlated with F, PO
4
, and SO
4
, where r =
0.75, 0.78, and 0.94, respectively. Such prevalence of juvenile copepod
stages at Stations (3) and (4) can explain the impact of fertilizer efuents
on the zooplankton structure and density.
Zooplankton diversity
According to the similarity dendrogram which was based on the total
abundance of the zooplankton community and the environmental vari-
ables (Fig. 4), the studied stations revealed the impact of the water
current which made a great similarity between the stations. The results
showed two main clusters; the rst contains Station (4) and its special
zooplankton community as a result of eutrophication caused by the ef-
uents of the Fertilizers Company. Stations (2) and (3) noticeably
exhibited the highest similarity value as a result of Fertilizers and
Chemical Company drainage water. However, Station (4) represented
the least similar station, which can be attributed to the effect of different
waste and drainage water on the canal as a downstream station. Thus, it
can be concluded that fertilizers have a slight impact on the zooplankton
community structure.
Table 5 shows a modest variance in the diversity index (H’) among
all stations. The least diverse station was Station (2) with H’ =1.4, while
Table 4
The Metal Index values of the studied stations in Ismailia Canal.
Stations Sum Ci/MAC Class Properties
1 0.33139286 II Pure
2 0.53888095 II Pure
3 0.48940476 II Pure
4 0.588 II Pure
M.G. Nassif and A.S. Amer
The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 49 (2023) 507–512
511
Fig. 2. Community structure of zooplankton in Ismailia Canal.
Fig. 3. CCA biplot illustrates the relationships between the zooplankton species and the physico-chemical properties in Ismailia Canal.
Fig. 4. Similarity dendrogram according to zooplankton community structure.
M.G. Nassif and A.S. Amer
The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 49 (2023) 507–512
512
Stations (1) and (4) nearly shared the same value of H’ =1.6. Station (3)
showed the highest diversity index, where H’ =1.8, however it had the
fewest species number, which could be attributed to the high level of
eutrophication brought on by the efuents of fertilizers. This density was
due to the dominance of rotifers (1,387,917 ind./m
3
), particularly
B. calyciorus, Brachionus falcatus (Zacharias, 1898), Brachionus quar-
identatus (Schmarda, 1859), Filinia sp., Polyarthra sp., Trichocerca chat-
toni (de Beauchamp, 1907), and Trichocerca cylindrica (Imhof, 1891).
These prevailing species are well-known as organic matter bio-
indicators. Therefore, a negative impact of fertilizer discharge is
concluded on the zooplankton community structure, density, and vari-
ety, and thus on the feeding habits of different sh.
Conclusion
This study has identied that phosphates affect the distribution of
Cladocera and Nematoda, while sulphates affect the distribution of most
rotifer species, Cladocera, and Nauplius larvae. The ndings show that
eutrophication occurs in the fertilizer discharge area, and thus affects
zooplankton community structure, biodiversity, and dispersion. Stake-
holders are recommended to take serious action and effectuate appro-
priate management plans, in addition to continuously monitoring the
water quality and fauna of the canal.
Ethical Clearance Statement
Not applicable.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing nancial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to inuence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to the members of the Central Laboratories
for Environmental Quality Monitoring (CLEQM) for their assistance and
collaboration in analyzing the water samples.
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Table 5
Zooplankton species diversity in the studied stations in Ismailia Canal.
Station S N H’
St 1 14 195,000 1.63
St 2 13 320,000 1.47
St 3 12 472,333 1.87
St 4 19 1,408,083 1.69
S =No. of species N =total individuals H
′
=Shannon Wiener index.
M.G. Nassif and A.S. Amer
