The status and significance of invertebrate communities

Abstract

Invertebrates constitute a major link in energy flowculminating into fish production in aquatic ecosystems. Intropical water bodies relatively little research has been done on invertebrate ecology especially their role in fishery production.European scientists through periodic expeditions to Africa in the last quarter of the 20th century carried out the earliest research on zooplankton. Rzoska (1957) listedthese early workers including Stuhlmann (1888), Weltner (1897) and Mrazek (1897-1898).Daday (1907), Verestchagin (1915) and Delachaux (1917) undertook further work during the early twentieth century. These earlyworks provide a useful basis for tracking community changes by comparison with modem investigations. Worthington (1931) provided the first quantitative account of the zooplankton of Lake Victoria along with information on diurnal vertical migrations, compared to a temperate lake. The establishment of the East African Freshwater Fisheries Research Organisation (EAFFRO) at Jinja in 1947 enabled investigations on the fisheries, algae, invertebrates and water quality aspects of the lake (EAFFRO Annual Reports 1947-1977) to be regularly carried out. Macdonald (1956) made the first detailed observations on the biology of chaoborids and chironomids (IakefJies) in relation to the feeding of the elephant snout fish, Mormyrus kannume. A detailed study of the biology of the mayfly, Povilla adusta Navas with special reference to the diurnal rhythms of activity was carried out by Hartland-Rowe (1957).The search to unravel the ecological role of aquatic invertebrates in the production dynamics of the lake has taken invertebrate research to greater heights through recent investigations including Okedi (1990), Mavut