Description
This dataset constitutes haplochromine cichlids from diverse habitats in the Upper Victoria Nile, a stretch of River Nile connecting lakes Victoria and Kyoga (Uganda).
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 146 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Natugonza V, Musinguzi L, Nsega M (2020): Characterization of Habitats and Haplochromine Diversity to Guide Conservation of Biodiversity amidst Hydropower Developments along the Upper Victoria Nile. v1.2. National Fisheries Resources Research Institute. Dataset/Occurrence. http://ipt-uganda.gbif.fr/resource?r=uppervictorianile_haps&v=1.2
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is National Fisheries Resources Research Institute. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: a128a6d6-9be3-4347-a7dd-3fc9b0f8230d. National Fisheries Resources Research Institute publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF Uganda.
Keywords
Occurrence; Upper Victoria Nile; Freshwater biodiversity; Uganda; Observation
Contacts
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- Point Of Contact
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Geographic Coverage
This dataset covers the Upper Victoria Nile, part of the River Nile connecting lakes Victoria and Kyoga (Uganda).
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [0.368, 32.783], North East [1.499, 33.295] |
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Taxonomic Coverage
Haplochromines
| Family | Cichlidae |
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| Genus | Astatotilapia, Haplochromis, Harpagochromis, Lipochromis, Mbipia, Neochromis, Paralabidochromis, Psammochromis, Ptyochromis, Pundamilia, Xystichromis |
| Species | Astatoreochromis alluaudi, Astatotilapia brownae, Astatotilapia nubila, Lithochromis xanthopteryx, Mbipia mbipi, Neochromis greenwoodi, Neochromis simotes, Paralabidochromis flavus, Paralabidochromis sauvagei, Psammochromis riponianus, Psammochromis acidens, Pundamilia azurea, Pundamilia igneopinnis, Pundamilia macrocephala, Pundamilia pundamilia, Pyxichromis orthostoma |
Temporal Coverage
| Formation Period | 2019 |
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Project Data
The project aimed to provide information on habitat characteristics and the diversity of haplochromine fish species associated with the different habitats to strengthen the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Isimba hydroelectric power dam (IHP).
| Title | Characterization of Habitats and Haplochromine Diversity to Guide Conservation of Biodiversity amidst Hydropower Developments along the Upper Victoria Nile |
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| Funding | The project was funded by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Uganda |
| Study Area Description | The study area was the Upper Victoria Nile. The Upper Victoria Nile is part of the River Nile that connects lakes Victoria and Kyoga. The River Nile in Uganda flows over diverse habitats including rocky areas, falls and rapids, with marginal macrophytes provide suitable habitats for evolution of unique haplochromine taxa. The UVN has been reported to have some species that do not appear anywhere else in the World and are of conservation importance. The Upper Victoria is a hotspot of hydro electric power dams with four active dams. These dams threatened aquatic biodiversity. |
| Design Description | We selected sampling sites above and below existing dams (operating or under construction). Site Ripon falls/Bukaya and Lower Nava were above and below Nalubale and Kiira dams respectively. Kalange and Buyala were above and below Bujagali dam completed in 2012 respectively. Itanda, Kirindi, and Isimba were above Isimba dam while Mbulamuti and Kakindu were below the dam that was under construction at the time of the survey in 2016. It is important that Bujagali and Isimba dams are downstream Owen falls and Kiira dams in that order. Under each site, sampling stations were selected based on habitat characteristics. Habitats considered include rocky, sandy, muddy, vegetated areas. In areas where there were major falls with no dam such as Itanda, efforts were made to choose stations above and below the falls for sampling. The sampling sites and stations are described in detail in a report prepared after the survey (NaFIRRI, 2016). |
The personnel involved in the project:
Sampling Methods
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.
| Study Extent | The study covered parts of the Upper Victoria Nile. The sampling was conducted in October and November 2016. |
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| Quality Control | Photos were taken to facilitate identification of fish specimens. |
Method step description:
- For more details on methodology, see Natugonza et al (2020).
Bibliographic Citations
- 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
Additional Metadata
| Alternative Identifiers | a128a6d6-9be3-4347-a7dd-3fc9b0f8230d |
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| http://ipt-uganda.gbif.fr/resource?r=uppervictorianile_haps |