Hydrological and anthropogenic influence in the Gilgel Gibe I reservoir (Ethiopia) on macroinvertebrate assemblages

Abstract

The Gilgel Gibe reservoir, which was built to fulfill the energy demand and the electricity export ambitions of Ethiopia, was characterized by low macroinvertebrate diversity mainly due to water level fluctuations, trampling of the littoral zone by cattle, nutrient input, and siltation from the catchment flow. The downstream river system was also affected by the dam due to a strongly decreased discharge as the water is diverted to Gilgel Gibe II hydropower plant through a 25 km underground tunnel. The study was based on seasonal macroinvertebrate sampling, water quality analyses, measurement of daily water level fluctuation, and recording of major anthropogenic activities. Hierarchical cluster analysis and canonical correspondence analysis were performed to determine relationships between the macroinvertebrate community composition and the environmental variables in the reservoir. The cluster analysis, Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, and MANOVA permutation tests, revealed that differences in physicochemical water quality parameters and ecological quality metrics based on macroinvertebrates existed between the samples taken during periods with low, medium, and high water level seasons. Remedial actions could be important at basin and reservoir level to solve the identified problems and to improve the ecological water quality.