The Unusual Reddish-Bloom Appearance in a Freshwater Fishpond at Kingolwira National Fish Farming Center, Morogoro, Tanzania

Authors

  • Offoro N. Kimambo Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1194-7139
  • Jabulani R. Gumbo Department of Hydrology & Water Resources, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda, South Africa
  • Titus A.M Msagati College of Science, Engineering & Technology, University of South Africa, South Africa
  • Hector Chikoore Unit for Environmental Science and Management, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/ije.v9i2.32734

Keywords:

Harmful algae, Microcystis, Reddish-bloom, Euglenophytes, FlowCAM

Abstract

The study aimed to examines a case of what constituted the uncommonly reddish-bloom appearance in the fishponds during the dry season (September 2018) at Kingolwira National Fish Farming Center located in Morogoro, Tanzania. The study used a benchtop FlowCAM® to investigate species' morphology. One-time assessment of physico-chemical characteristics during the event was performed from the reddish and non-reddish fishponds. Images were compared with the available literature, but also t-test statistics were performed to examine the difference between the fishponds. The results show that the fishponds were significantly (p<0.05) different from each other in terms of physico-chemical parameters except for water temperatures. Furthermore, Microcystis species dominated the non-reddish fishpond whereas Euglenophytes species were pervasive in the reddish fishpond. The two species have the potential to produce secondary metabolites (toxins) or to produce a hypoxia condition that is harmful to the fishery, aquatic ecology, and human. To confirm toxicity nature and dynamics further,  future studies should consider extensive and regular diurnal and long-term monitoring.

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Author Biography

Offoro N. Kimambo, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

and Department of Ecology & Resource Management, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, South Africa

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Published

2020-11-06

How to Cite

N. Kimambo, O., R. Gumbo, J., A.M Msagati, T., & Chikoore, H. (2020). The Unusual Reddish-Bloom Appearance in a Freshwater Fishpond at Kingolwira National Fish Farming Center, Morogoro, Tanzania. International Journal of Environment, 9(2), 204–216. https://doi.org/10.3126/ije.v9i2.32734

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2020)

Section

Research Papers

License

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