Groundwater biodiversity and water quality of wells in the Southern region of Benin

Abstract

This study performed in South-Eastern Benin aims to correlate the regional subterranean aquatic fauna, still poorly unknown, with the main physico-chemical characteristics of well-water used by human populations. Two kinds of descriptors are used. Physico-chemical analyses of water and faunistic sampling were consequently performed for one year at 15 stations. Multivariate analyses show different groups of stations depending on the kind of descriptor. Thus it appears that, in the Pobè region, the water quality, very variable from one station to another, is certainly not the main determinant of the well-water fauna distribution. Among the subterranean crustaceans, species belonging to genera Allocyclops and Metastenasellus have never been described before. These results are a contribution to the knowledge of the regional biodiversity and suggest that this biodiversity can be used as an indicator for better protection of regional groundwater.