Zooplankton communities in Lake Nasser, Egypt, under the current flood regime, before the construction of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)

Hegab, Mahmoud H.; Khalifa, Nehad; Aly, Walid

doi:10.2989/16085914.2020.1800443

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Nowadays, the water quality of the lake is affected by many factors including, primarily, inflows, water circulation, thermal stratification, nutrient loadings and sedimentation processes [4][5][6] related to flooding events. Phytoplankton and zooplankton have become good indicators commonly used for monitoring the environmental conditions [7], and they quickly respond to any changes in the water quality [8,9]. Both phytoplankton and zooplankton are, thus, of great importance in the ecological and economic context due to their roles in aquatic food networks and, consequently, in fishery management [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Insight into Lake Nasser Environment: Water Quality and Biotic Communities—A Case Study before Operating the Renaissance Dam

Goher

Napiórkowska‐Krzebietke

Aly

et al. 2021

Water

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This study focused on the monitoring and assessment of aquatic ecosystem functioning based on the abiotic and biotic features of Lake Nasser in the post-flood and pre-flood periods as the last ones before water storing behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The physicochemical parameters, distribution and structure of biotic communities, including bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton, macrophytes, epiphytes and fish were analyzed at 15 sites. The values of most parameters (primarily temperature, total suspended solids, pH, orthophosphates, carbonates, sulphates and some cations) were higher in the pre-flood period, whereas higher values of conductivity, total dissolved solids, total solids, nitrites, nitrates, chemical oxygen demand, bicarbonates and chlorophyll a were recorded in the post-flood period. Cyanobacteria-dominated phytoplankton and total coliform bacteria were more abundant in the pre-flood period, and especially at sites 10–15, whereas higher abundances of zooplankton were recorded in the post-flood period. All these changes in parameters were significantly differentiated, and only the concentrations of dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, ammonium and silicates were at similar level in both periods. The study also indicated that environmental factors had affected the macrophyte distribution and the adaptation of the invasive species Myriophyllum spicatum to thrive under different environmental factors in the lake. Besides, macrophytes provided the habitat to other aquatic organisms, especially epiphytes, and also helped maintaining the good water quality, nutrient cycling and stabilizing rivers’ and lakes’ banks. Generally, these conditions were rather favorable for biological processes and fish production.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Insight into Lake Nasser Environment: Water Quality and Biotic Communities—A Case Study before Operating the Renaissance Dam

Goher

Napiórkowska‐Krzebietke

Aly

et al. 2021

Water

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“…Many studies have examined plankton community structure and biochemical constituents of Lake Nasser (Mageed & Heikal 2006;Khalifa et al, 2015;Hussian et al, 2016;Abd El-Hady et al, 2016;AbdelGawad & Abdel-Aal 2018;Hegab et al,2020). Phytoplankton represent at least one quarter of the biomass of the world's vegetation, and any changes in phytoplankton composition affect the abundance and diversity of food web structures in aquatic ecosystems (Leterme et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytoplankton Composition and its Biochemical Contents in a Subtropical Reservoir (Lake Nasser, Egypt) during Flood Season.

Zaher¹,

El-Hady²,

Khalifa³

2021

Egypt. J. of Aquatic Biolo. and Fish.

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African Journal of Aquatic Scienceas a window for research surrounding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Rivers-Moore

Frith²

2021

African Journal of Aquatic Science

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The current issue of the African Journal of Aquatic Science (AJAS) is a good reflection of our journal scope of publishing aquatic sciences research covering all African waters. Here, there is research on rivers, lakes and other freshwater sources across multiple trophic levels (including algae, plankton, aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish) representing studies in seven countries from the north to the south of Africa. All of the papers represent current knowledge and information on specific aquatic ecosystems, and reflect both the importance of solid peer-reviewed science and baseline data against which future research can measure changes.River connectivity is fundamental to resilience and persistence in aquatic ecosystems. Sadly, a recent study showed that only 37% of rivers greater than 1000 km long remain free-flowing globally (Grill et al. 2019). While impoundment, channelisation and water abstraction of rivers are not new issues, the stakes of these activities and how they impact on aquatic ecosystems and human settlements have become higher in the past few decades. The first decades post World War II saw a global boom of big dam engineering projects, which is again seemingly gaining impetus. As part of this, a topic that continues to be in the public media and domain, and political arena, relates to the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Some of the published research in this issue highlights the importance of understanding reference aquatic ecological relationships across trophic levels. As with any system that undergoes change or development, baseline information is critical. It provides a reference point for system restoration, and a record of what the system used to be like.The Nile River is the second longest river in the world, with a drainage area spanning 3.4 million km 2 . With the water from this river originating from, and flowing through, eleven African countries, this hydrological system links multiple cultures and religions through Africa. In the upper headwaters of the Blue Nile, one of three major source tributaries of the Nile River, Coptic monasteries are located on islands on Lake Tana in the Ethiopian Highlands. The lower Nile River in Egypt, appearing as a lush green ribbon across the desert from the air, has influenced Egyptian life, both agriculturally, spiritually and economically for more than five millennia. Understandably, Egyptians are protective of the Nile, depending on it for 95% of their water needs, including drinking water, agricultural use and hydroelectric power (Wahaab and Badawy 2004).While the Nile River has had numerous impoundments constructed along its axis to meet the demands for increased agricultural production (Wheeler et al 2016), the current era has shown an insatiable need for energy globally, spurning a new phase of big dam construction. The GERD is located in the Ethiopian Highlands, 45 km inland from the border with Sudan on the Blue Nile. Once operational, it will function as the biggest producer of hydro-electric power in Africa...

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Zooplankton communities in Lake Nasser, Egypt, under the current flood regime, before the construction of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)

Cited by 4 publications

References 40 publications

Comprehensive Insight into Lake Nasser Environment: Water Quality and Biotic Communities—A Case Study before Operating the Renaissance Dam

Comprehensive Insight into Lake Nasser Environment: Water Quality and Biotic Communities—A Case Study before Operating the Renaissance Dam

Phytoplankton Composition and its Biochemical Contents in a Subtropical Reservoir (Lake Nasser, Egypt) during Flood Season.

African Journal of Aquatic Scienceas a window for research surrounding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

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