Study of the population structure of decapod crustaceans in the Pool Malebo in Kinshasa (DR Congo)

The study of the population structure of crustaceans was undertaken during the period from June to September 2019, in the Pool Malebo. A total of 467 individuals were collected. These specimens were divided into 3 families, 3 genera and 4 species. Several biotic indices were used to study the structure of the population on the one hand, and its diversity on the other. Gross abundance, relative frequency, species richness, diversity of Shannon-Weaver and equitability of Piélou were calculated. The evaluation of these indices in the different stations showed that there is a parallelism between them. The highest gross abundance of crustaceans in the Pool Malebo was observed in M. sollaudiis (224 individuals which accounted for 47.9% of the total abundance. It was followed by C. africana, C. togoensis and Soudanautes sp. which accounted for 145, 59 and 39 individuals respectively, i.e. 31.1%, 12.6% and 8.3 of the total catch. The distribution of crustaceans is largely influenced by the physical and chemical quality of the water (dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, conductivity, nitrate, etc.).