The food habits of four species of Muglidae, consisting of Liza grandisquamus, L falcipinus, Mugil curema and , were investigated using the frequency of occurrence and numerical methods of analysis. Also, Relative Gut Length (RGL) of fish specimen measured was calculated from fish gut length. Generally, the food consisted mainly diatoms, blue - green & green algae and detritus. Other food items included annelid, crustacea, nematode, insect parts, dinoflagellates and unidentified organisms. M. curema had the least Species Richness Index (2.827) while L grandisquamus had the highest (4.088). The Shanon - Wiener Diversity Index ranged 0.91 in M. curema to 1.03 in L. falcipinus, while Shanon's Index (HI]) ranged from 2.095 (M. curema) to 2.372(L falcipinus).The male M. bananesis had the least mean RGL of 2.48 ~c 0.17 while female L. falcipinus and L grandisquamus had the highest mean RLG of 3.31 ~c 0.13. The food items observed and the RGL suggest that the muglids studied were herbivorous or omnivorous. | Includes:- 18 refs.

This study assessed the quality street vended food and water as well as the effects of environmental pollution on them in 3 local government areas (LGAs) representing low, medium and high income areas in Lagos State in coparison to samples collected from 5 locations in Ogun, Oyo and Osun States being previously established as places of origin of most migrants to Lagos. Street vended roasted plantain and maize as well as water samples were collected as composites from each of the sample locations. All samples were analysed for physico-chemical as well as microbiological parameters. The study revealed that roasted plantain in the low income area had the highest level of contaminants such as Pb, Cd, Zn and Fe. The lowest value was in the high income area. Lead levels ranged between 0.2 – 125 µg/g with the highest value observed at the low income, high population density and high traffic area. Cd, Zc and Fe levels also followed a similar trend in the other three States. They ranged between 0.48 – 18.3 µg/g, 2.0 -4.5 µg/g and 0.4 – 13.5 µg/g respectively. It is opined that the pollution sources for the roasted plantain and maize include those from emissions from leaded gasoline. The aerobic mesophilic organisms, mould and Staphylococcus aureus were present in all the water samples. These results imply that government and its agencies should attend to the problem of unavailability of potable water and calls for greater monitoring and control of the environment where roadside foods are prepared. @ JASEM

A total number of 166 specimens of Mugil cephalus caught from Epe Lagoon (low brackish/ freshwater) were examined for food and feeding habit and biometric features from November 2006 ? May 2007. The food of the species consisted mainly of algae (Bacillariophyta, Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta and Pyrrophyta) and detritus. The size range of fish examined were 12.4 ? 27.0cm (standard length) while the weight ranged from 22.40 ? 308.00g. The mean values of the biometric characters of Mugil cephalus did not reflect wide variations. The population dominant cohort in the lagoon represents the harvestable and marketable representative for a sustainable fishery and is a strong indication of potential for freshwater culture of this marine species. | Includes:- 2 tables.;1 fig.;23 refs.