Gladys Chioma Nzeh
@unilorin.edu.ng
Professor, Faculty of Life Sciences
University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
Professor Gladys Chioma Nzeh attended University of Lagos for her undergraduate education and graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) Zoology, Second class upper division. She proceeded to the University of Ibadan , Nigeria for her postgraduate studies and obtained her Ph.D. specialising in Hydrobiology and fisheries. She is currently an employee of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria in the Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Zoology. She has been acting Head of Department, Acting Director of Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme(SIWES) and Chairman, University of Ilorin Zoological Garden. Her research area is Fisheries and Aquaculture. Currently in fisheries she is investigating the effect of water quality on fish abundance and distribution in lakes while in aquaculture, she is using single cell protein produced from agricultural waste to partially replace fishmeal in the diet of cultured fish and the bacterial load of the experimental water is also studied.
EDUCATION
Undergraduate education: University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Postgraduate education: University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Animal Science and Zoology, Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Aquatic Science, Pollution
FUTURE PROJECTS
Effects of water quality on a lake
Water quality parameters measured in a lake were Temperature, pH, Total Dissolved Solids, Electrical Conductivity (μS/cm) were measured in situ using Hanna digital electronic meter. Transparency was also measured on site using a Secchi disc device. Dissolved oxygen, Calcium and Magnesium hardness, phosphate, Nitrate concentrations were determined using standard methods (APHA 1995). The results showed that water quality parameters were within tolerable limits for the habitation of fish species according to WHO standards.
Applications Invited
Collaborators
Single cell protein production from agricultural waste
Fish meal is the most expensive ingredient in fish feed formulation, this study investigated the effect of single cell protein production from Citrus sinensis peel and Citrus sinensis pulp used to replace fishmeal on the growth performance of Clarias gariepinus hybrid juveniles and microflora of fish water. Air dried and ground samples of C. sinensis peel and C. sinensis pulp were subjected to fermentation, filtration, purification, washing, followed by drying using appropriate microorganisms to produce single cell protein (SCP). The SCP produced from these agricultural waste products were incorporated into the feed and three diets were formulated using the different SCP while the control diet contained fish meal.The feeding trial lasted for eight weeks. The increase in weight, specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), protein efficiency ratio (PER) was calculated. The result showed that single cell protein promoted growth.
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Bacterial load of fish experimental water
The isolates were characterized by cellular morphology and Gram staining. Molecular methods using DNA extraction, PCR, gel electrophoresis, sequencing, and BLAST were carried out at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria. The bacterial isolates were identified as Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Lysinibacillus spaheriicus and the bacterial flora conferred some protection to the fish
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Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Oluyinka A. Iyiola, Lotanna M. Nneji, Moshood K. Mustapha, Chioma G. Nzeh, Segun O. Oladipo, Ifeanyi C. Nneji, Agboola O. Okeyoyin, Christopher D. Nwani, Obih A. Ugwumba, Adiaha A. A. Ugwumba,et al.
Wiley
Abstract This study examines the utility of morphology and DNA barcoding in species identification of freshwater fishes from north‐central Nigeria. We compared molecular data (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences) of 136 de novo samples from 53 morphologically identified species alongside others in GenBank and BOLD databases. Using DNA sequence similarity‐based (≥97% cutoff) identification technique, 50 (94.30%) and 24 (45.30%) species were identified to species level using GenBank and BOLD databases, respectively. Furthermore, we identified cases of taxonomic problems in 26 (49.00%) morphologically identified species. There were also four (7.10%) cases of mismatch in DNA barcoding in which our query sequence in GenBank and BOLD showed a sequence match with different species names. Using DNA barcode reference data, we also identified four unknown fish samples collected from fishermen to species level. Our Neighbor‐joining (NJ) tree analysis recovers several intraspecific species clusters with strong bootstrap support (≥95%). Analysis uncovers two well‐supported lineages within Schilbe intermedius. The Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of Nigerian S. intermedius with others from GenBank recover four lineages. Evidence of genetic structuring is consistent with geographic regions of sub‐Saharan Africa. Thus, cryptic lineage diversity may illustrate species’ adaptive responses to local environmental conditions. Finally, our study underscores the importance of incorporating morphology and DNA barcoding in species identification. Although developing a complete DNA barcode reference library for Nigerian ichthyofauna will facilitate species identification and diversity studies, taxonomic revisions of DNA sequences submitted in databases alongside voucher specimens are necessary for a reliable taxonomic and diversity inventory.