ABSTRACT In most tropical countries including Ghana and Cameroon, knowledge of ecological importance of mangrove ecosystem in terms of litter production, structural characteristics, water and soil properties, has been qualitatively well documented and recognised. However, there is scanty quantitative scientific data to back this up. The purpose of this research dissertation was to study and compare the mangrove ecosystems of Cameroon and Ghana two contrasting coastal zones, using parameters ...
Only in 1954 the notes of late Prof. Moss on the genera Arthrocnemum and Salicornia l'Tere published, and although this was a big step forward in the classification of these genera, it proved to be unsatisfactory in many cases. This, however, should not throw the work on that subject done by him into shade, as shows his ealier works ( Moss, 19lo, 1912, 1914),and only his notes published by Prof. Adamson in 1954 w·ere unfortunately fragmentary. The revision of the genus Arthrocnemum is taken ...
Abstract Central Africa is, climatologically speaking, a poorly studied region (Clivar, 2000; Dezfuli and Nicholson, 2012; Nicholson and Dezfuli, 2012; Todd and Washington, 2004). It is considered as a knowledge gap in the understanding of the tropical climate system (Todd and Washington, 2004). Drivers of Central Africa rainfall are not well documented and deserve more attention. The aims of thesis are to enhance our fundamental understanding of Central Africa rainfall and the mechanisms inv...
Downstream evolution of ocean properties and associated fluxes in the Greater Agulhas Current System: Ad hoc Argo experiments and modeling Tamaryn Morris The evolution of cyclonic eddies across the Southern Mozambique Chanel and the downstream evolution of the Agulhas Current was investigated using Argo floats, in combination with output from ocean general circulation reanalysis models. Two dedicated experiments were undertaken in April and July 2013, whereby eight floats were deployed within...
ABSTRACT to influence habitat heterogeneity, possibly serving as strong predictors macrofaunal assemblage and abundance in the Keta lagoon. Some I agoons a re dumping a reas for d isposal o f waste f rom u rban and i ndustrial areas. In some places their water is used for the cooling o f generators o f electric power plants, which return effluent of warmed water to the lagoon. Coastal lagoons are economically important in their use for aquaculture facilities ((Day and Yanez- Arancibia, 1985;...
ABSTRACT A study was conducted on the growth pattern of the penaeid shrimp, Penaeus notialis, in earthen ponds at the Volta Estuary of Ghana. The ponds were treated with chicken manure at the rate of 0 kg/ha (control), 100 kg/ha, 200 kg/ha, and 300 kg/ha respectively. The culture period was divided into two phases; the first phase covered a period of 90 days and the second phase took 180 days. Growth rates established at the end of the 90 days of culture were 0.04 - 0.13 g/day that resulted...
ABSTRACT The study was carried out in the southwestern sector of the Keta lagoon, a closed coastal lagoon located in the southeastern part of Ghana. The study was aimed at studying the population parameters and the feeding habits of the major fish species (in terms of catch) in the lagoon in relation to the prevailing physicochemical parameters and the benthic macrofauna of the area. The water physicochemical parameters studied included the electrochemical and the optical properties of the wa...
ABSTRACT Chrysichthys species have been characterised by previous investigators. Most often, characterisation has been based on morphological and meristic characters. These characters may be modified by environmental factors, thus making them difficult to use in characterising species. There is the need therefore to refine or supplement taxonomy based on morphological and meristic characteristics. In the present study, variation in meristic counts and twelve body proportion variables in three...
SUMMARY An assessment of the fishery of five major commercial species which together contribute more than 70% of the catches in stratum VII (near Yeji) of the Lake Volta has been made based on studies undertaken between March, 1995 and December, 1996. The species studied are: Hemisynodontis membranaceus (Geoffroy St. Hilaire, 1809), Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (Lacepede, 1809), Chrysichthys auratus (Geoffroy St. Hilaire, 1809), Oreochromis niloticus (Linne, 1757), and Schilbe intermedius (Rup...
ABSTRACT Wave and wind dynamics are important in the estimation of beach erosion rates and sediment transport modelling. They are also important in modelling sea fatigue, oil spill transport and planning of coastal and marine activities. This work sought to quantify the magnitude of wave and wind parameters along the coast of Ghana as well as identify how these parameters varied across the year. A nine years wave and wind data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gl...
ABSTRACT Little is known about dolphins present in Ghanaian coastal waters. Taxonomic status, catch rate, and impact of the fishery on these animals, are areas, which have remained virtually untouched by previous workers. The present study attempts to fill-in these gaps in knowledge. Studies conducted during 1998 -2000 revealed the presence of the following eight species in Ghanaian waters: Stenella clymene, Stenella attenuata, Steno bredanensis, Tursiops truncatus, Grampus griseus, Lagenodel...
ABSTRACT Functional diversity, an important component of biodiversity, has in recent years engaged global attention. This is in great part due to the mechanistic understanding achieved from functional diversity studies in the face of accelerated global biodiversity changes ascribed primarily to anthropogenic drivers. The exigency of the situation has stimulated biodiversity-ecosystem functions (B-EF) studies to elucidate ecosystem processes and services that are at threat notably in the marin...
ABSTRACT The study examined the role of anthropogenic disturbances, temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration in the range shift of aquatic plants, fish and bird communities in six wetlands. It was conducted over a 2-year period. The dominance ratio approach was used to determine the range shift of plants. Ordination techniques were used to determine the influence of environmental factors on biological data-set. Of the 40 species of plants sampled, obligate species constituted 35%, wh...
ABSTRACT Based on abundance and distribution of species along the intertidal continuum from the sublittoral to the supralittoral, rocky shores have been divided into zones globally. Rocky shore zonation has been assumed to follow broad regional and latitudinal patterns with no attention being paid to smaller scale patterns. The aim of this study is to find out if the global 3-zone division is applicable to Ghanaian shores based on multivariate analysis. Macroalgae which constitute th...
ABSTRACT The study examined the role of anthropogenic disturbances, temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration in the range shift of aquatic plants, fish and bird communities in six wetlands. It was conducted over a 2-year period. The dominance ratio approach was used to determine the range shift of plants. Ordination techniques were used to determine the influence of environmental factors on biologi...