AMUSAN Babatunde Omokunle, ADELEKE Sikiru Oladimeji, and ABUBAKAR Abubakar Muhammad
Odonata are good indicators of habitat quality as the highest abundance and diversity are found in habitats with environmental heterogeneity. Odonate fauna was studied in five sites on Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife with the aim of determining the species composition and diversity of the Odonates. Odonata specimens were collected fortnightly from January to August, 2023 with the aid of aerial nets. A total of 238 individuals of Odonates representing 31 species distributed in 6 families were recorded in this study. Libellulidae was the most abundant and diverse family as it accounted for the highest number of species and 63% of the entire collection. Palpopleura lucia was the most abundant species and it was recorded in all the sampled sites. The highest abundance of Odonate specimens was recorded in Parks and Garden, a site with heterogeneous microhabitats. Odonata collection in this study was dominated by generalists and pollution tolerant species. This suggests a considerable level of habitat fragmentation brought about by uncontrolled anthropogenic disturbances within the University. It is therefore important that management and conservative practices are put in place to mitigate further degradation of the environment.
Keywords: Odonata, fauna, diversity, distribution, species richness.