Composition, abundance and distribution patterns of zooplankton in a tropical reservoir, Nairobi dam, Kenya
Abstract
The seasonal composition and abundance of
zooplankton in Nairobi Reservoir, a small suburban water
body,
1990
were investigated from October 1989 to September
to establish taxonomic composition, abundance and
seasonality of zooplankton in this Reservoir.
zooplankton were sampled from vertical hauls from
different
(Station
depths at three stations, a limnetic station
1) , a littoral station (Station 2) , and an
inlet station (Station 3) , and concentrations of
dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll ~, water temperature,
total alkalinity, conductivity, Secchi depth, and
rainfall were simultaneously measured.
The findings show that there were trends in
seasonal abundance of particular species with the
composition varying both quantitatively and
qualitatively. There was evidence of species succession
among the three groups: Rotifera, Cladocera, and
Copepoda with the abundance or dominance of different
species at different times of the year. The seasonal
variation in densities and species succession is
discussed in relation to seasonal fluctuations of
limnological parameters.
Citation
M.Sc.Publisher
University of Nairobi Department of Zoology, University of Nairobi
Description
Master of Science in Zoology (Hydrobiology