Lake Victoria is vulnerable to increasing eutrophication, which has become manifested in ecological changes not yet fully understood. From October 2009 to January 2010, the influence of water quality on zooplankton community structure in three habitats in northern Lake Victoria, including sewage lagoons at the lake shores, Napoleon Gulf (NG) and the interface between the lake and the Nile River (also known as Source of the Nile River), was examined. Selected physico-chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen concentration; water temperature; electrical conductivity; water depth) were measured in-situ, while water samples were collected for chlorophyll-a determinations. Zooplankton was sampled with conical plankton net (mesh size 60 lm; 0.25-m mouth diameter). The NG and Source of the River Nile (SN) sampling sites exhibited significantly higher species richness, relative to the Sewage Lagoons (SL) site (F 2,69 = 68.533; P < 0.05). Higher mean densities and dry biomass of zooplankton was generally a characteristic of the SL site (8715 ± 3241 ind L )1 ; 1862 ± 451 lg L )1 ), compared to the NG (119 ± 24 ind L )1 ; 53 ± 8 lg L )1 ) and SN sites (151 ± 26 ind L )1 ; 58 ± 9 lg L )1 ). Copepoda constituted a high numerical composition of the zooplankton at the NG and SN sites (>90% for both sites), while Rotifera dominated the zooplankton community at the SL site (97%). The mean values (±SE) of soluble reactive phosphorus (4060.7 ± 776.6 lg L )1 ) and nitrate-nitrogen (2121.7 ± 355.5 lg L )1 ) were much higher for the SL site, compared with the SN (8.2 ± 1.1 lg L )1 ; 28.6 ± 5.3 lg L )1 , respectively), and NG site (7.8 ± 0.8 lg L )1 ; 32.7 ± 5.4 lg L )1 , respectively). This study indicated the nutrient-rich conditions observed at the SL site suppress the zooplankton species diversity, but favour species-specific abundance and biomass. These study results indicate the zooplankton community structure can be used as a biological indicator of water quality in the Lake Victoria region.
Zooplankton community along a stretch of Upper
Zooplankton community constitutes one of the keystone organisms that are crucial in understanding aquatic ecosystem responses to environmental distresses. The objective of this study was to contribute to the understanding of zooplankton ecological conservation status and assessment of potential impacts of the proposed Hydropower plant on the zooplankton community in River Aswa, Nwoya District, in Uganda. Baseline information on aquatic micro-invertebrate diversity, abundance and distribution along the affected river section was generated. Two copepods and four species of rotifers were recorded. The Intake site had the highest diversity (six species) while Powerhouse hadfour species. Of the species encountered, Keratella tropica registered the highest abundance—1,025 and 732 individuals m-2 at the Powerhouse and Intake sites, respectively. Total zooplankton densities were comparable with Intake (2,773 individuals m-2) and Powerhouse (2,311 individuals m-2). The zooplankton taxa do not appear in the IUCN Red List in the Catalogue of Life. Therefore, the proposed construction of a hydropower plant may not pose zooplankton conservation problems. Keywords: Biodiversity, Zooplankton, invertebrates, hydropower, River Aswa.
A limnological survey was conducted in six Lakes: Mulehe, Mutanda, Kayumbu, Chahafi, Bunyonyi and Nakasanda, of South-Western Uganda (SWU) in September 2014. The baseline survey aimed at characterizing the high altitude water bodies for enhanced future fisheries productivity. The results indicated that Lake Nakasanda had the highest temperature (24°C). Although other physic-chemical conditions of the water bodies varied, they were within acceptable ranges for fish productivity with no extreme cases reported. Chlorophyll-a was recorded highest in Lakes Nakasanda (16.8±3.4 µgL -1 ) and Bunyonyi (14.2±9.5 µgL -1 ). Rotifers were the most dominant zooplankton taxa with a total of 16 species and Lake Mulehe had the highest abundance (2,089,423±4,511 individuals m -2 ) while the least abundance were recorded in Lakes Nakasanda (471,608±35,505 individuals m -2 ) and Chahafi (473,354±15,279 individuals m -2). Among the macro-invertebrates, Diptera was the most abundant with Lake Mutanda recording the highest species richness of 8. The recorded absence or fewer individuals of some zooplankton and macro-invertebrate species/groups in certain aquatic ecosystems were attributed to the water quality. The variation in water quality, results from human activities and this may impart negative implications on fish productivity if not remedied.
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