Most Popular Posts
Categories
- Biodiversity (58)
- Climate change (130)
- Community-based conservation (78)
- Economics and conservation (126)
- Endangered species (186)
- Fresh water (41)
- Habitat (192)
- Invasive species (82)
- Marine (100)
- Monitoring (218)
- Restoration (138)
- Socio-political issues (145)
- Tools and technology (91)
Archives
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
Jan
30
2008
Is the writing on the wall for Lake Victoria’s papyrus?
“Darwin’s nightmare” continues at Lake Victoria, according to a report published in Wetlands Ecology and Management. Tanzania National Parks ecologist Yustina Andrew Kiwango and collaborator Eric Wolanski studied the effects the lake’s twin hydroelectric dams – Nalubaale and Kiira – are having on its ecosystem, and as you’d expect things don’t look good. The lack of coordination between the two dams mean that together they draw off too much water, exposing the vulnerable peat wetlands that fringe the lake. These wetlands are swathed in papyrus, which plays two vital ecological roles. It provides juvenile tilapia with safe refuge — until they’re big enough to be caught by the artisan fishermen whose livelihoods depend on them — and draws nutrients out of the severely eutrophicated water. Losing the papyrus would be disastrous for the lake’s inhabitants, including the million or so humans cramped around its shores. Sustainably harvesting it, however, could prove a neat way to clean its polluted waters, Kiwango and Wolanski suggest. Source: Kiwango YA & Wolanski E (2008) Papyrus wetlands, nutrients balance, fisheries collapse, food security, and Lake Victoria level decline in 2000–2006. Wetlands Ecology and Management DOI: 10.1007/s11273-007-9072-4
Image © Frank van den Bergh
Read more on Climate change, Community-based conservation, Economics and conservation, Endangered species, Fresh water, Habitat, Invasive species, Monitoring, Restoration, Socio-political issues | 1 Comment
Email This Post
Jan
28
2008
Read more on Climate change, Economics and conservation, Habitat, Invasive species, Monitoring, Socio-political issues | Post a Comment
Email This Post
Jan
26
2008
Read more on Community-based conservation, Economics and conservation, Endangered species, Monitoring, Socio-political issues | Post a Comment
Email This Post
Jan
23
2008
Read more on Economics and conservation, Invasive species, Monitoring, Restoration, Tools and technology | Post a Comment
Email This Post
Jan
22
2008
Read more on Climate change, Community-based conservation, Economics and conservation, Habitat, Socio-political issues | Post a Comment
Email This Post
Jan
17
2008
Read more on Community-based conservation, Economics and conservation, Habitat, Marine, Monitoring, Restoration, Socio-political issues | Post a Comment
Email This Post
Jan
16
2008
Read more on Climate change, Economics and conservation, Habitat, Marine, Monitoring | Post a Comment
Email This Post
Jan
14
2008
Read more on Climate change, Endangered species, Habitat | Post a Comment
Email This Post
Jan
10
2008
Read more on Endangered species, Monitoring, Restoration, Socio-political issues | Post a Comment
Email This Post
Jan
9
2008
Read more on Climate change, Community-based conservation, Economics and conservation, Endangered species, Habitat, Marine, Monitoring, Restoration, Socio-political issues | Post a Comment
Email This Post