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Lake Sare
Lake Sare is a lake in western Kenya that lies between the Yala Swamp and Lake Victoria. It has potential as a site for restocking fish species that have become endangered in Lake Victoria, but due to lack of management the lake ecology is steadily degrading. Location Lake Sare was originally a gulf on Lake Victoria at the mouth of the Yala River where it left the Yala Swamp. The gulf has been cut off from the lake by a culvert, which created the Lake Sare through back-flooding. The river water enters Lake Victoria from Lake Sare through a channel crossed by a bridge that carries the C27 coastal highway along the Goye causeway. Lake Sare is bordered by papyrus swamps, which merge into the Yala Swamp. The lake does not support commercial fishery due to lack of management, although that could change. With its direct link to Lake Victoria, it is important in preserving the cichlid fish fauna of Lake Victoria. It has potential as a site for juvenile endangered species of fish to gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yala Swamp
The Yala Swamp is a wetland region of about in Western Kenya. Location The Yala Swamp at the mouth of the Yala River covers about along the northeastern shore of Lake Victoria. The swamp contains the Lake Kanyaboli, a freshwater deltaic wetland with an average depth of , which is fed by the floodwaters of the Nzoia and Yala rivers and by the backflow of water from Lake Victoria. The wetland is in Siaya and Busia counties in Kenya. It acts as a filter for waters that flow into Lake Victoria from two major rivers, the Yala River and Nzoia River. It is sometimes considered the source of the Nile. In the past the Yala River flowed through the eastern 20% of the Yala Swamp into Lake Kanyaboli, then into the main swamp, and then through a small gulf into Lake Victoria. Today the eastern part of the swamp has been drained, and the river flows directly into the main swamp. It is cut off from Lake Kanyaboli by a silt-clay dyke. Lake Kanyaboli now receives its water from the surrou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by currents in the ocean, or by currents in seas, lakes or rivers. Zooplankton can be contrasted with phytoplankton, which are the plant component of the plankton community ("phyto" comes from the Greek word for ''plant''). Zooplankton are heterotrophic (other-feeding), whereas phytoplankton are autotrophic (self-feeding). This means zooplankton cannot manufacture their own food but must eat other plants or animals instead — in particular they eat phytoplankton. Zooplankton are generally larger than phytoplankton, most are microscopic, but some (such as jellyfish) are macroscopic and can be seen with the naked eye. Many protozoans (single-celled protists that prey on other microscopic life) are zooplankton, including zooflagellates, fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eutrophication
Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplankton productivity". Water bodies with very low nutrient levels are termed oligotrophic and those with moderate nutrient levels are termed mesotrophic. Advanced eutrophication may also be referred to as dystrophic and hypertrophic conditions. Eutrophication can affect freshwater or salt water systems. In freshwater ecosystems it is almost always caused by excess phosphorus. In coastal waters on the other hand, the main contributing nutrient is more likely to be nitrogen, or nitrogen and phosphorus together. This depends on the location and other factors. When occurring naturally, eutrophication is a very slow process in which nutrients, especially phosphorus compounds and organic matter, accumulate in water bodies. These nutrients deriv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oreochromis Variabilis
''Oreochromis variabilis'', the Victoria tilapia, is a species of African cichlid native to Lake Victoria and its tributaries, Lake Kyoga, Lake Kwania, and Lake Bisina (Salisbury), as well as being found in the Victoria Nile above Murchison Falls. This species can reach a standard length of . This species is important to local commercial fisheries and is potentially important in aquaculture. It is also found in the aquarium trade. Despite its common name, it is not the only tilapia native to Lake Victoria. The equally threatened '' O. esculentus'' has a similar distribution. Description ''Oreochromis variabilis'' has typical characteristics of a cichlid fish: long dorsal fin with both spiny and soft rays, a broken lateral line, a single pair of nostrils and a single lower pharyngeal bone. Like other typical 'tilapias', it has relatively small closely packed teeth, numerous gill rakers and juveniles have a dark 'tilapia spot' at the base of the soft-rayed part of the dorsal f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oreochromis Esculentus
''Oreochromis esculentus'', the Singida tilapia or Graham's tilapia, is a species of cichlid endemic to the Lake Victoria basin, including some of its satellite lakes such as Kyoga, in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. Its common name refers to Lake Singida, but this population is the result of an introduction that happened in the 1950s. This fish is highly valued by local fishermen, who know it as ''ngege''. In 1927-1928 Michael Graham conducted the first ever systematic Fisheries Survey of Lake Victoria. In his official report of the expedition, Graham wrote that "The ngege or satu ''Tilapia esculenta'', is the most important food fish of the lake, whether for native or non-native consumption. No other fish equals it in the quality of the flesh. It is convenient size for trade, travels well and is found in much greater numbers than other important fish, such as semutundu (Luganda), ''Bagrus sp.'.Graham M. (1929.) The Victoria Nyanza and Its Fisheries: A Report on the Fish Survey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nile Perch
The Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi , Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is widespread throughout much of the Afrotropical realm, being native to the Congo, Nile, Senegal, Niger and Lake Chad, Volta, Lake Turkana, and other river basins. It also occurs in the brackish waters of Lake Maryut in Egypt. The Nile perch is a fish of substantial economic and food-security importance in East Africa. Originally described as ''Labrus niloticus,'' among the marine wrasses, the species has also been referred to as ''Centropomus niloticus''. Common names include African snook, Victoria perch (a misleading trade name, as the species is not native to Lake Victoria, though they have been introduced there), and many local names in various African languages, such as the Luo name ''mbuta'' or ''mputa''. In Tanzania, it is called '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clarias Gariepinus
''Clarias gariepinus'' or African sharptooth catfish is a species of catfish of the family Clariidae, the airbreathing catfishes. Distribution They are found throughout Africa and the Middle East, and live in freshwater lakes, rivers, and swamps, as well as human-made habitats, such as oxidation ponds or even urban sewage systems. The African sharptooth catfish was introduced all over the world in the early 1980s for aquaculture purposes, so is found in countries far outside its natural habitat, such as Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. Description The African sharptooth catfish is a large, eel-like fish, usually of dark gray or black coloration on the back, fading to a white belly. In Africa, this catfish has been reported as being second in size only to the vundu of the Zambesian waters, References External links Reproduction of African catfish [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synodontis Afrofischeri
''Synodontis afrofischeri'', known as Fischer's Victoria squeaker, the marbled Victoria squeaker, Fischer's catfish, or the Victoria synodontis, is a species of upside-down catfish native to Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. It was first described by German zoologist Franz Martin Hilgendorf in 1888, based upon a holotype discovered in Lake Victoria. The specific name ''"afrofischeri"'' is in honor of the German researcher Dr. Gustav Fischer, a German explorer of Africa. Description The body of the fish is a marbled yellowish brown, although the amount of marbling varies between individuals, with some a uniform brown. The fish has a dark to black band that traverses from the eye to the mouth, and two irregular light vertical bands on either side of the adipose fin. Juveniles have a very similar appearance to juvenile '' S. fuelleborni'' juveniles. Like other members of the genus, this fish has a humeral process, which is a bony spike that is attached to a hardened head ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Victoria Squeaker
The Lake Victoria squeaker (''Synodontis victoriae'') is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda where it is found in Lakes Kioga and Victoria and the Victorian Nile in the lower Kagera River and the Malagarasi River drainage. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1906, from specimens collected in the Lake Victoria at Buganga, Uganda and Entebbe, Uganda by Mr. E. Degen. The species name ''victoriae'' is derived from the location where the species was originally discovered, Lake Victoria. Description Like all members of the genus ''Synodontis'', ''S. victoriae'' has a strong, bony head capsule that extends back as far as the first spine of the dorsal fin. The head contains a distinct narrow, bony, external protrusion called a humeral process. The shape and size of the humeral process helps to identify the species. In ''S. victoriae'', the humeral process is rough, about times as long as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marbled Lungfish
The marbled lungfish (''Protopterus aethiopicus'') is a lungfish of the family Protopteridae. Also known as the leopard lungfish, it is found in Eastern and Central Africa, as well as the Nile region. At 133 billion base pairs, it has the largest known genome of any vertebrate and one of the largest of any organism, along with ''Polychaos dubium'' and ''Paris japonica'' at 670 billion and 150 billion, respectively. The marbled lungfish is caught in large numbers throughout much of its range, including several hundred metric tonnes per year in the Mwanza Gulf of Lake Victoria alone. It is mostly a food fish, although this varies depending on the exact community, with some recognizing it as a delicacy and others strongly disliking its taste or considering it as a taboo to eat it. In some regions, parts of this fish are used as traditional medicine. Description The marbled lungfish is smooth, elongated, and cylindrical with deeply embedded scales. The tail is very long and has taper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haplochromis
''Haplochromis'' is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cichlidae. It has been used as the default "wastebin taxon" for Pseudocrenilabrinae cichlids of the East African Rift, and as such became the "largest" fish "genus". Many of these cichlids are popular aquarium fishes; like similar Haplochromini they are known as "haplos", "happies" or "haps" among aquarium enthusiasts. The genus was established by F.M. Hilgendorf in 1888. It was originally conceived as a subgenus of A.C.L.G. Günther's ''"Chromis"'', at that time an even larger "wastebin genus" for Pseudocrenilabrinae cichlids. The type species of Hilgendorf was '' H. obliquidens''. ''"Chromis"'' of Günther turned out to be a junior homonym of G. Cuvier's ocean fish genus '' Chromis'', already established in 1814, and was abolished. As the years went by, other genera of (mostly) Haplochromini were lumped with and split again from ''Haplochromis'', and the final delimitation of the clade around ''H. obliquidens'' is not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oreochromis Leucostictus
''Oreochromis leucostictus'' (the blue-spotted tilapia) is a species of cichlid native to Albertine Rift Valley lakes and associated rivers in DR Congo and Uganda. It has now been introduced widely elsewhere East Africa, and is believed to have negative ecological impact, particularly on native tilapias. This species is reported to reach a standard length of up to , but is usually much smaller. It is exploited by small-scale fishery and aquaculture operations. Description ''Oreochromis leucostictus'' is a relatively deep-bodied tilapia with a fairly small mouth, narrow, rounded head and high back. Juvenile are pale, countershaded and have around 8 thin faint dark bars on the flank beneath the dorsal fin, with other bars on the head and tail. The fins are faintly spotted and there is a rather vague dark 'tilapia mark' at the based on the soft dorsal fin. Adults of both sexes are characterised by white spotting on the flanks and fins. Mature males are very dark, almost black, s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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