Title: Zooplankton, fish communities and the role of planktivory in nine Ethiopian
lakes
Journal: Hydrobiologia
Jacobus Vijverberg1,*, Eshete Dejen2, 3, Abebe Getahun4 and Leopold A.J. Nagelkerke5
1
Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB
Wageningen, the Netherlands.
2
Amhara Region Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. Box 527, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Present address: FAO, Sub Regional Office for Eastern Africa, P.O. Box 5536, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia.
3
4
Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia.
5
Wageningen University, Aquaculture and Fisheries Group, Wageningen Institute of
Animal Sciences (WIAS), De Elst 1, 6708 WD Wageningen, the Netherlands
*)
Corresponding author; e-mail: k_vijverberg@yahoo.co.uk
Online Resource 1
Description
Additional background information on zooplankton and zooplanktivorous fish species
from Ethiopia.
Tables 1, 2 and 3
1
Table 1 Length-weight relationships of zooplankton taxa used for the calculation of
biomass of zooplankton in the environment. The length-weight relationship is W=a · Lb ,
where L is the length of the zooplankter in mm, and W is the individual carbon weight in
µg. *= measured in dry weight and converted by the present authors in carbon weight
assuming carbon weight 50 % of dry weight
Taxon
Taxon
a
b
Reference
Present study
Length-Weight est.
Bosmina longirostris
B. longirostris*
3.93
1.79
Culver et al., 1985
Ceriodaphnia spp.
C. cornuta
0.93
1.21
Amarasinghe et al.,
1997
Diaphanosoma spp.
D. excisum
0.71
1.34
Amarasinghe et al.,
1997
Daphnia hyalina
D. galeata*
4.47
2.03
Culver et al., 1985
Daphnia magna
D. magna*
3.115 2.785 Bottrell et al., 1976
Moina micrura
M. micrura
1.21
Daphnia barbata
2.70
Amarasinghe et al.,
1997
Calanoid copepodites
Calanoid copepodites
3.36
1.69
Amarasinghe et al.,
1997
Cyclopoid
Cyclopoid
copepodites
copepodites
1.50
1.85
Amarasinghe et al.,
1997
2
Table 2 List of zooplankton species with maximum length (mm) and lakes where they
were collected. Samples were taken in the open water zone in the period November 2004
to January 2005. For abbreviations of Lakes see Table 1, * = temperate species
Species/Taxa
Max. length
Lakes
(mm)
CLADOCERANS
Bosmina longirostris (O.F. Müller)*
0.4
TA, KO
Ceriodaphnia cornuta Sars
0.5
TA, KO, ZW, AW,
AB, CH
Ceriodaphnia dubia Richard*
1.0
AS, HA, TA, AB
Daphnia barbata Weltner
1.5
KO, ZW, LG, AB,
CH
Daphnia hyalina Leydig*
1.2
TA
Daphnia magna Straus*
2.9
AS, HA, CH
Diaphanosoma excisum Sars
1.1
TA, KO, ZW,
AW,AB, CH
Diaphanosoma sarsi Richard
1.2
HA, TA, AB, CH
Diaphanosoma lacustris Kořinek*
1.4
AS, HA, AW
Moina micrura Kurz
0.9
TA, KO, ZW, LG,
AW, AB, CH
COPEPODS
Mesocyclops aequatorialis similis Van de
1.3
Velde
HA, TA, KO, ZW,
AW, CH
Megacyclops viridis viridis (Jurine)*
2.5
AS
Thermocyclops spp.
0.9
AS, HA, TA, KO,
ZW, AW, CH
Thermodiaptomus galebi lacustris Defaye
1.4
TA
Tropodiaptomus processifer friedae Verheye
1.9
KO
1.4
AB
& Dumont
Tropodiaptomus kraepelini (Poppe & Mrázek)
3
Table 3 Fish species with abbreviations and feeding habits (present study), caught in the nine
study lakes indicating in how many lakes a species was observed and in which lakes.
Abbreviations used: * = endemic species, ♦ = introduced exotic species, HB = herbivores, OZ =
obligate zooplankton feeders, FZ = facultative zooplankton feeders, BE = benthivores, MA =
macrofauna feeders, PV = piscivores. For abbreviations of Lakes see Table 1. Obligate and
facultative zooplanktivores in Lake Tana according to Dejen et al. (2006)
Species
Bagrus docmak
Barbus humilis
Barbus paludinosus
Barbus tanapelagius*
Clarias gariepinus
Abbr.
BD
BH
BP
BT
CF
Family
Bagridae
Cyprinidae
Cyprinidae
Cyprinidae
Clariidae
Feeding
MA
FZ
MA
OZ
FZ
Cyprinus carpio♦
Garra dembecha
CC
Cyprinidae
BE
GD
Cyprinidae
HB
Garra ignestii
Garra regressus*
Garra tana*
Hydrocynus forskahlii
Labeobarbus acutirostris*
Labeobarbus brevicephalus*
Labeobarbus gorgorensis*
Labeobarbus intermedius
GI
GR
GT
TF
LA
LB
LG
LI
Cyprinidae
Labeobarbus longissimus*
Labeobarbus
macrophtalmus*
Labeobarbus megastoma*
Labeobarbus nedgia*
Labeobarbus truttiformis*
Lates niloticus
Oreochromis niloticus
LL
LMA
Cyprinidae
Cyprinidae
FZ
HB
HB
FZ
MA
FZ
PV
MA, BE,
PV
MA
MA
LME
LN
LT
NP
ON
Cyprinidae
Cyprinidae
Cyprinidae
Centropomidae
Cichlidae
MA
MA
MA, BE
MA
FZ
Schilbe intermedius
Synodontis schall
SI
SS
TZ
Schilbeidae
Mochokidae
Cichlidae
MA
FZ
HB, MA
TA
TA
TA
AB
AS, HA, TA, KO, ZW,
LG, AW, CH
AB
CH, AB
ZW
VB
Cyprinidae
HB
TA
Tilapia zillii♦
Varicorhinus beso
Cyprinidae
Cyprinidae
Characidae
Cyprinidae
Cyprinidae
Cyprinidae
Cyprinidae
4
Lakes
CH, AB
TA
ZW, LG, AW
TA
HA, TA, KO, ZW, LG,
AW
HA. KO, ZW
HA, TA, KO, AW, LG,
ZW
AS
TA
TA
AB, CH
TA
TA
TA
TA, KO, ZW, LG, AW,
AB, CH
TA
TA
References
Bottrell, H. H., A. Duncan, Z. M. Gliwicz, E. Grygierek, A. Herzig, A. Hillbricht-Ilkowska, H.
Kurasawa, P. Larsson & T. Weglenska, 1976. A review of some problems in zooplankton
production studies. Norwegian Journal of Zoology 24: 419-456.
Culver, D.A., M.M. Boucherle, D.J. Bean & J.W. Fletcher, 1985. Biomass of freshwater
crustacean zooplankton from length-weight regressions. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and
Aquatic Sciences 42: 1380-1390.
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