GLOBAL JOURNAL OF EARTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Integrity Research Journals
ISSN: 2636-6002
Model: Open Access/Peer Reviewed
DOI: 10.31248/GJEES
Start Year: 2016
Email: gjees@integrityresjournals.org
Phytoplankton distribution, abundance and diversity along a salinity gradient between Lake Naivasha and Lake Oloiden
https://doi.org/10.31248/GJEES2023.134 | Article Number: 85A4D8143 | Vol.9 (1) - June 2024
Received Date: 22 May 2023 | Accepted Date: 27 June 2023 | Published Date: 30 June 2024
Authors: Carolyne K. Guto* , James M. Njiru , Albert Getabu and Zipporah M. Gichana
Keywords: Bacillariophycea, Chlorophycea, Cyanophycea, salinity gradient.
A study was conducted with an objective of determing the spatial and temporal distribution, abundance and diversity of plankton along a salinity gradient in the Lakes Naivasha and Oloiden. The phytoplankton and some physico-chemical parameters were sampled monthly for one year (August, 2020 to July, 2021). Identification and counting of phytoplankton were done under a compound microscope and the diversity was studied using indices. Salinity was higher in Lake Oloiden sites and it associated negatively with the phytoplankton abundance. Thirty-two species were identified and they belonged to the families: Bacillariophycea, Chlorophycea, Dinophycea, Euglenophycea, Cyanophycea and Rhodophycea. The most abundant families were Bacillariophycea and Cyanophycea (Lake Naivasha), and Chlorophycea and Dinophycea (Lake Oloiden). The diversity index was low: 0.97 and 0.67 for Oseria and Oloiden (ST1, ST2) respectively. The Margalef’s index was highest for Oseria (4.62) and lowest for Oloiden ST1 and ST2 (2.86). The dominance index (D) was highest in Korongo (0.16) and lowest in Oloiden ST1 (0.1) while Korongo had the lowest evenness (0.77) and Oseria’s was the highest (0.86). The species richness decreased with an increase in salinity. The phytoplankton diversity was low in the lakes and it could be attributed to the salinity. Further research should be done along the salinity gradient since conditions may change and, thus the phytoplankton diversity.
| Ballot, A., Kotut, K., Novelo, E., & Krienitz, L. (2009). Changes of phytoplankton communities in Lakes Naivasha and Oloidien, examples of degradation and salinization of lakes in the Kenyan Rift Valley. Hydrobiologia, 632, 359-363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9847-0 |
||||
| Bellinger, E. (2015). Fresh water algae: identification, enumeration and use as bioindicators. In. Bellinger, E., & Sigee, D. (Eds.). A key to the more frequently occurring fresh water algae. John Wiley and Sons. Pp.141-251. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118917152 |
||||
| Eyo, V. O., Ekyo, P. B., Andem, A. B., & Okorafor, K. A. (2013). Ecology and diversity of phytoplankton in the Great River Kwa, Cross River State, Nigeria. International Journal of Science and Research, 1(2), 1-7. | ||||
| Flöder, S., Jaschinski, S., Wells, G., & Burns, C. W. (2010). Dominance and compensatory growth in phytoplankton communities under salinity stress. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 395(1-2), 223-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2010.09.006 |
||||
| Hubble, D. S., & Harper, D. M. (2002). Phytoplankton community structure and succession in the water column of Lake Naivasha, Kenya: a shallow tropical lake. Hydrobiologia, 488, 89-98. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023314128188 |
||||
| Hussan, S., Uddin, N., Emma, S. N., Rahman, M, M., & Hussain, Z. (2020). Assessment of fish and plankton biodiversity in the Bay of Bengal, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. World Applied Science Journal, 38(6), 471-478. | ||||
| Kathiresan, M. (2013). Composition and community structure of plankton from Muthupet coastal waters and application of marine copepods (oithuna rigida) for larval rearing of Pacific white shrimp (Litopevaeus vannamei). Doctoral dissertation. Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli. | ||||
| Koushik, R., Sandipan, G., & Saurav, K. M. (2016). Checklist of commonly occurring phytoplankton and zooplankton genera of urban and rural ponds of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. International Journal of Research in Biological Sciences, 6(1), 1-6. | ||||
| Larson, A. C., & Belovsky, E. G. (2013). Salinity and nutrients Influence richness and evenness of phytoplankton community in microcosm experiment from Great Salt Lake Utah, USA. Journal of Plankton Research, 35 (5), 1154-1166. https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbt053 |
||||
| Ndungu, J., Augustijn, D. C., Hulscher, S. J., Fulanda, B., Kitaka, N., & Mathooko, J. M. (2014). A multivariate analysis of water quality in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Marine and Freshwater Research, 66(2), 177-186. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14031 |
||||
| Nelson, T. R., Hightower, C. L., Coogan, J., Walther, B. D., & Powers, S. P. (2021). Patterns and consequences of life history diversity in salinity exposure of an estuarine dependent fish. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 104, 419-436. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01080-0 |
||||
| Nielsen, D. L., Brock, M. A., Rees, G. N., & Baldwin, D. S. (2003). Effects of increasing salinity on freshwater ecosystems in Australia. Australian Journal of Botany, 51(6), 655-665. https://doi.org/10.1071/BT02115 |
||||
| Nyangau, G. (2021). Assessment of fisheries changes in relation to water level fluctuations, Species introductions and management trend in the Lake Naivasha. PhD thesis, Kisii University, Kenya. | ||||
| Obegi, B. N., Ogendi, G. M., Omondi, R., Siriba, B. J., Morara, G. N., Rindoria, N. M., & Orina, P. (2021). Characteristic relationships between phosphorous accrual, ecosystem aspects and water level fluctuations in tropical lakes: Naivasha Ramsar site, Kenya. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 9(01), 53-67. https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2021.91004 |
||||
| Ogbeigbu, A. E. (2005). A practical approach to research and data handling. Minex publishing, Benin city, Nigeria. Pp. 153-155. | ||||
| Olofsson, M., Hagan, J. G., Karlson, B., & Gamfeldt, L. (2020). Large seasonal and spatial variation in nano-and microphytoplankton diversity along a Baltic Sea-North Sea salinity gradient. Scientific Reports, 10, Article number 17666. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74428-8 |
||||
| Omondi, A. O., Balaka, S. O., Mokua, G. O., Mokua J. O & Omondi S. O. (2020). A review of the changes in phytoplankton community structure and ecology in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment (In Print) | ||||
| OpenStreetMap.org (2021). OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Retrieved from https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/ui/search.html. | ||||
| Rayori, D., Getabu, A., Omondi, R., Orina, P., Babu, J., & Omondi, A. (2021). Plankton diversity in Gusii waste water treatment plant in Kisii county, Kenya. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 9(3), 299-306. https://doi.org/10.22271/fish.2021.v9.i3d.2505 |
||||
| Suthers, M., & Rissik, D. (2009). Plankton: A guide to their ecology and monitoring for water quality. CSIRO publishing. https://doi.org/10.1071/9780643097131 |
||||
| Telesh, I. V., & Khlebovich, V. V. (2010). Principal processes within the estuarine salinity gradient: a review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 61(4-6), 149-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.02.008 |
||||
| Velasco, J., Gutiérrez-Cánovas, C., Botella-Cruz, M., Sánchez-Fernández, D., Arribas, P., Carbonell, J. A., Millán, A., & Pallarés, S. (2019). Effects of salinity changes on aquatic organisms in a multiple stressor context. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 374(1764), 20180011. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2018.0011 |
||||
Copyright © 2025 Integrity Research Journals. All rights reserved.