Plankton abundance and resource exploitation by the endemic sprat Nannothrissa stewarti (Poll & Roberts, 1976) in a large blackwater lake of the middle Congo River basin, Lake Maï-Ndombe - 2026
Plankton abundance and resource exploitation by the endemic sprat Nannothrissa stewarti (Poll & Roberts, 1976) in a large blackwater lake of the middle Congo River basin, Lake Maï-Ndombe
[en] ABSTRACT
Lake Maï-Ndombe is a large natural shallow lake of the Congo River basin. We investigated the composition and abundance of plankton and the diet of Nannothrissa stewarti that is at the basis of an important fishery. The lake is not stratified, phytoplankton being well developed during low water (LW) conditions with higher biomass (average value ~ 2.5 ± 1.1 μg chlorophyll a L−1) than in high water (HW) conditions (0.14 ± 0.1 μg chlorophyll a L−1). It is oligotrophic but with an autochthonous algal primary production, in contrast to earlier reports. The metazooplankton comprises 15 species (excluding bdelloid rotifers), among which the dipteran Chaoborus sp. Its biomass is low (~0.20 ± 0.1 g C m−2 in LW vs 0.130 ± 0.02 g C m−2 in HW). Based on gut contents analysis, Nannothrissa is a highly selective feeder in Lake Maï-Ndombe, feeding mostly on Cladocera despite their relatively low abundance. This suggests that only part of the metazooplankton production is being exploited by the sprat. However, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data are inconsistent with the dominance of zooplankton in stomach contents, and further work should elucidate which 13C-depleted sources further support the diet of this key consumer in Lake Maï-Ndombe.
Disciplines :
Aquatic sciences & oceanology
Author, co-author :
Isumbisho, Mwapu ; Laboratoire d’Etude de Milieux Aquatiques (LEMA), Département de Biologie et Techniques Appliquées, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de la Gombe (ISP-Gombe) , Avenue Père BOKA N°2 Kinshasa , ; École Régionale postuniversitaire d'Aménagement et de Gestion Intégrés des Forêts tropicales et Territoires tropicaux (ERAIFT) , Campus UNIKIN - BP 15373 - Kinshasa ,
Descy, Jean-Pierre ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Chemical Oceanography Unit (COU)
Bouillon, Steven; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences , KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E B-3001 Leuven-Heverlee ,
Litute, Jean Jacques Bowanga wa; Laboratoire d’Etude de Milieux Aquatiques (LEMA), Département de Biologie et Techniques Appliquées, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de la Gombe (ISP-Gombe) , Avenue Père BOKA N°2 Kinshasa ,
Kashala, Likoko; Laboratoire d’Etude de Milieux Aquatiques (LEMA), Département de Biologie et Techniques Appliquées, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de la Gombe (ISP-Gombe) , Avenue Père BOKA N°2 Kinshasa , ; Département de Géographie et Gestion de l’Environnement, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de la Gombe (ISP-Gombe) , Avenue Père BOKA N°2 Kinshasa , DR Congo
Snoeks, Jos; Department of Biology, Fish Diversity and Conservation , KU Leuven, Charles Deberiotstraat 32 - box 2439 3000 Leuven ,
Language :
English
Title :
Plankton abundance and resource exploitation by the endemic sprat Nannothrissa stewarti (Poll & Roberts, 1976) in a large blackwater lake of the middle Congo River basin, Lake Maï-Ndombe
KU Leuven - Catholic University of Leuven ULiège - University of Liège VLIR-UOS - Flemish Interuniversity Council. Bureau UOS
Funding text :
This work was supported by the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Biology (Fish Diversity and Conservation) of the KU Leuven, the Unit of Chemical Oceanography, University of Liège (Professor Alberto Borges, Research Director at the FNRS), the Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de la Gombe (DR Congo), a Global Minds Short term Research Stay (BE2017GMUKULA101) and the VLIR-UOS Short Initiative project (CD2022SIN337A101), at the KU Leuven.
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