Abstract
Marine environmental pollution from urban development, tourism industry and agricultural activities affects the quality of marine and aquatic life and humans. This study established the impact of anthropogenic activities on marine water nutrient loading and primary productivity at Mtwapa Creek in Kenya. Triplicate water samples were collected twice a month from seven (7) sites on the creek to determine the levels of concentration of the three nutrients; , and in creek waters. Samples were analyzed for nutrients level using the spectrophotometric method. Primary productivity as an indication of carbon assimilation was computed using the traditional Winkler method. Quantitative one-way Analysis of Variance was used to determine the variations between sampling sites while correlation analysis was computed to establish the relationship between nutrients and carbon levels. There was spatial and temporal fluctuation of nutrients levels on the creek; however the levels of nitrates were within the oligotrophic range. Phosphate levels were not significantly different throughout the sampling period, while Ammonia levels were very significantly high in the creek waters, implying active biochemical processes affecting primary productivity with phosphates greatly influencing carbon assimilation. Strategic land based management approaches should be instituted to reduce the discharge flow into the creek waters.
Highlights
The Kenyan coastal creeks are vulnerable marine ecosystems to the impacts of both natural and anthropogenic disturbances of sedimentation from land erosion and eutrophication from nutrients discharges
There was an increase in the level of the NO3 nutrients during the wet season (June to August) with the month of August 2011 recording the highest levels
The findings of this study suggest that there are higher levels of phytoplanktonic activities in the outer creek compared with the inner creek
Summary
The Kenyan coastal creeks are vulnerable marine ecosystems to the impacts of both natural and anthropogenic disturbances of sedimentation from land erosion and eutrophication from nutrients discharges. The close proximity of the ecosystems to urban and agricultural areas has exposed creeks to pollution with potential to cause environmental impacts on the marine aquatic and human lives [1]. Creeks are among the most heavily polluted areas throughout the world with about 60% of the world’s population living along creeks and estuaries [2]. Studies on the impact of sewage discharges into coastal marine waters and the characterization of nutrient enrichment in estuaries [5] [6] show that Mtwapa creek was on the higher mesotrophic levels compared to Tudor and Makupa creeks with increased nutrient trend down the estuarine systems. The high levels are attributed to human economic development [5]
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