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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
earth and planetary sciences
Fish as bioindicators in aquatic environmental pollution assessment: A case study in Lake Victoria wetlands, Uganda
Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Volume 36, No. 14-15, Year 2011
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Description
Growing human population and industrialization have led to the pollution of most aquatic ecosystems and consequent deterioration in environmental water quality. Indicator organisms are needed to improve assessment programmes on the ecological impacts of anthropogenic activities on the aquatic environment. Fish have been widely documented as useful indicators of environmental water quality because of their differential sensitivity to pollution. This study investigated the environmental water quality of selected wetland ecosystems using fish as biological indicators. Fish community structure in relation to water quality was assessed in five wetlands along the shoreline of Lake Victoria from August 2006 to June 2008. Four urban wetlands were variedly impacted by anthropogenic activities while one rural wetland was less impacted, and served as a reference site. Fish species diversity, abundance and richness were assessed, and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was used to evaluate the relationship between the fish communities and environmental variables. Results revealed that urban effluent impacted negatively on water quality and consequently the fish community structure. A total of 29 fish species were recorded throughout the study with the lowest number of 15 species recorded in the most impacted site. Shannon diversity and Margalef species richness indices were highest at the references site and lowest at the most impacted site. Wetland haplochromis species dominated the reference site, while oreochromis species dominated the most impacted site. The inshore locations registered higher species diversity and low species richness than the offshore locations. Low dissolved oxygen, pH, secchi depth and high electrical conductivity, total phosphorous, and total nitrogen were strongly associated with the effluent-impacted sites and greatly influenced the fish community structure. This study recommends the use of fish as valuable biological indicators in aquatic environmental pollution assessment. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Naigaga, Irene
Uganda, Kampala
Makerere University
Kaiser, Horst
South Africa, Grahamstown
Rhodes University
Muller, Wilhelmine J.
South Africa, Grahamstown
Rhodes University
Ojok, Lonzy
Uganda, Kampala
Makerere University
Mbabazi, D.
Uganda, Jinja
National Fisheries Resources Research Institute
Magezi, Godfrey
Uganda, Jinja
National Fisheries Resources Research Institute
Muhumuza, Elias
Uganda, Jinja
National Fisheries Resources Research Institute
Statistics
Citations: 80
Authors: 7
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.pce.2011.07.066
ISSN:
14747065
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Case Study
Study Approach
Qualitative
Study Locations
Uganda