Movement and habitat use by the marbled lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus Heckel 1851 in Lake Baringo, Kenya

Abstract

The marbled lungfish, Protopterus aethiopicus, a recent introduction into Lake Baringo, Kenya is now an important commercial species there. Because little is known about its behaviour, we used ultrasonic telemetry to investigate its movements and use of habitat as part of a broader biological study. Twelve marbled lungfish were implanted with ultrasonic tags and tracked for variable periods between September 2001 and 2002. Two individuals were tracked for most of the study period. Daily movement ranged from little or none to 5.2 km. Mean hourly rates of movement for three fish located twice a day (morning and late afternoon) over several days suggested that individuals were active throughout the diel period. Maximum lake depth was about 3 m and fish utilized all depths greater than 1 m. Six home ranges described for four lungfish varied in size from 5.8 to 19.8 km 2 and were occupied for between 2 and 4.5 months. Use of habitat and the movement of marbled lungfish in Lake Baringo appeared to be influenced more by biotic than abiotic factors.