ABSTRACT Lake Baringo is a turbid lake that lies in a closed drainage basin of the Kenyan East African Rift Valley. The lake’s water quality has deteriorated in the recent past mainly due to sedimentation from its catchment arising from poor agricultural practices, deforestion and overgrazing. Its fishery has also declined since the 1980s and frequent lake closures to fishing activities have not alleviated the problem. This shows that there may be other critical ecological and environmenta...
ABSTRACT Natural wetlands are crucial ecosystems capable of providing provisioning, regulatory and cultural ecosystem services (ES). However, globally, wetlands are constantly under threats of degradation of their functions and loss or reduction of wetland coverage area, as a result of agricultural intensification due to demands for food production. Natural wetlands in Nyando floodplain are no exception as a result of conversion into rice fields. Such conversions may compromise some of the e...
ABSTRACT There is an increase in exposure of water sources to faecal contamination as a result of expanding anthrogenic activities in Lake Naivasha basin in Kenya. This contamination exposes water users in the region to a variety of health risks. This study investigated faecal pollution of community water sources (lake, rivers and boreholes) within Lake Naivasha basin through determination of the concentrations of total coliforms, Escherichia coli, intestinal enterococci, Clostridium perfrin...
ABSTRACT The excessive breeding of mixed sex Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in ponds often lead to stunted growth. This study hypothesized that cage culture was a potential alternative in solving the problem. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that its growth performance does not significantly vary when polycultured in cages with the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus Burchell 1822) and African carp (Labeo victorianus Boulenger 1901). An experiment was set up in a completely randomized ...
ABSTRACT The influence of the water hyacinth mats on the physico-chemical characteristics of the underlying water is important in understanding the potential impacts on the aquatic organisms and human uses. The objective of the study was to determine the temporal and environmental conditions regulating biomass dynamics in water hyacinth and its effects on water quality in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Field measurement and experimental set up were used to generate research data. Field research was c...
ABSTRACT Land use change influences wetland’s services through effects on structure, physicochemical environment and the biota. This consequently affects the ecology and relative abundance of individuals or populations of certain fish species. This calls for concerted efforts to understand the wetlands’ response to land use change impacts if a sustainable balance between demand and wetland resources is to be achieved. The ecology and relative abundance of the endemic small Clarias specie...
Lake Nakuru is an economically important natural resource in Kenya. Despite the unique ecological characteristics exemplified by this lake, the industrial potential of microbes in the lake has barely been explored. The main objective of this study was to determine the distribution of bacteria, isolate and characterize bacteria with industrial potential. This was achieved through intensive ecological study of three sites on the lake for a period of six months (January to June 2010). Total...
ABSTRACT Lake Naivasha fishery is economically important to the communities living around the lake and nationally. The communities derive economic benefits directly and indirectly through fish sales and utilization of fish for food as a source of protein. The fishery is primarily based on exotic species, supported by six main species, namely; Blue spotted tilapia (Oreochromis leucostictus), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), Red-bellied tilapia (Tilapia zilli), Largemouth bass (Micropteru...
ABSTRACT The African catfish Clarias gariepinus is a non-native fish species to Lake Naivasha. The timing and method of its introduction into the Lake is not clearly known, but it is thought that it probably came through the inflowing rivers; Malewa, Gilgil and Karati. The biology and ecology of catfish in Lake Naivasha is poorly known. This lack of knowledge makes it difficult to estimate the trophic level, reproductive capacity and ecological role of the species in the Lake. Therefore, thi...
ABSTRACT An investigation to assess the influence of a natural wetland in the middle reach of River Mereronyi , Kenya, on the river water quality was carried out between May and June, 2008. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of this particular wetland on nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorus) and removal and trapping of coliforms (E. coli, total coliforms) in the river water. Water samples were collected weekly using acid washed plastic bottles, while sediment samples were collecte...