Abstract
Ichthyofaunal diversity and the impact of anthropogenic activities on fish population assemblages were studied in Lake Cayo, a small lake located in the coastal region of the Republic of Congo. Twelve stations were sampled twice over a two-year period. Fishing techniques following standardized methods utilizing monofilament gill nets, and nine environment variables were measured at each station. A total of 11,361 specimens comprising 30 species in 28 genera and 18 families were collected with the Cichlidae being the most diversified. Redundancy Analysis with forward selection coupled with Monte Carlo permutation tests identified depth, pH and substrate as accounting for 57.7% of the total variance among the nine variables sampled (p < 0.05). The low Shannon’s diversity (1.16 ± 0.33) and Equitability (0.43 ± 0.12) indices at all sites, suggest that the Lake Cayo system is in poor ecological health.
Highlights
Continental aquatic ecosystems are affected by anthropogenic activities, including habitat modification, introduction of exotic species, pollution, sedimentation, and overfishing [1] [2]
Ichthyofaunal diversity and the impact of anthropogenic activities on fish population assemblages were studied in Lake Cayo, a small lake located in the coastal region of the Republic of Congo
Apart from data reported by [3] and in the recent compilation of [4] [5] on fish species richness across the lower Guinean ichthyofaunal province, no study of fish populations based on estimates of abundance or the drivers of fish community assemblages has previously been performed in the lower Loeme lake complex
Summary
Continental aquatic ecosystems are affected by anthropogenic activities, including habitat modification, introduction of exotic species, pollution, sedimentation, and overfishing [1] [2]. The consequences of these activities, amplified by population growth and increasing pressure on natural resources, potentially endanger ichthyofaunal diversity and the biological integrity of aquatic ecosystems. While long spared such impacts, continent-wide African fresh-. The goal of the present study is to remedy this deficiency by more closely examining these neglected Ramsar ecosystems
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