Diversity of haplochromine cichlids in various habitats in the Upper Victoria Nile (UVN) DataSet Details

Description:

This dataset constitutes haplochromine cichlids from diverse habitats (submerged rocks, sandy bottom, fast running waters, reservoir) in the Upper Victoria Nile (UVN), a stretch of River Nile connecting lakes Victoria and Kyoga (Uganda).

Purpose:

To document the diversity of fish, especially haplochromine cichlids, of the Upper Victoria Nile to monitor changes in fish species composition amid hydro-power developments.

Temporal scope:

2016

Taxonomic scope:

Orders: 1
Family: 1
Genera: 14
Species: 16

Methodology:

The study covered parts of the Upper Victoria Nile. The sampling was conducted in October and November 2016. Fish sampling was carried out using monofilament gillnets of stretched mesh sizes 1 to 6 inches in increments of 0.5 inches. In habitats where gillnets could not be used, especially rocky areas, hooks of sizes number 18 and 20 were used. In a few cases, a beach seine was used. Since the emphasis of the study was on haplochromine cichlids, the fish had to be caught, examined, and photographed when still alive. Consequently, gillnets were set during daytime for one hour to facilitate identification of haplochromine species with their live colors. After hauling, individual fish specimens were photographed alive in a cuvette, using a digital camera and identified to the lowest possible taxon. Because most of the species endemic to the Nile River are un-described, those fishes that could not be identified to species level were given cheironyms. For more details, see Natugonza et al., 2020.

Bibliography:

Natugonza V, Musinguzi L, Nsega M, Ogutu-Ohwayo R (2020) Characterization of Habitats and Haplochromine Diversity to Guide Conservation of Biodiversity amidst Hydropower Developments along the Upper Victoria Nile. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12750575

Number of Occurrencies:

138 Records

Authors:

Monic Nsega

Laban Musinguzi

Vianny Natugonza