Baseline Fish Biodiversity Surveys - African Wildlife Foundation

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AWF Conservation in Practice Papers - July 2005Table of ContentsIntroductionFish Biodiversity Surveys in Upper and Middle ZambeziHighlights from Biodiversity InvestigationsStandardization of Aquatic Resources Ecological Monitoring MethodologiesHighlights from Standardization of Ecological MethodsGeneral Field Observations in Upper and Middle Zambezi SitesConservation Logic and Lessons LearnedIdentified Knowledge GapsAcknowledgementsLiterature citedpage 2page 2page 3page 4page 5page 5page 6page 7page 7page 71AWF Conservation in Practice PapersJuly 2005
Baseline Fish Surveys: AWF Experiences from Zambezi River, Southern AfricaBaseline Fish Surveys: AWF Experiences from Zambezi River, Southern AfricaIntroductionThe Zambezi River and its tributaries are critical habitatfor abundant freshwater fish resources ranging fromsocially and economically significant species such astigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus), lungfish (Protopterusannectens brieni), to rare or endemic cichlid (tilapias) andcyprinid species. Out of the 239 species recorded inthe whole Zambezi Basin (excluding Lake Malawi), 122species use the Zambezi River itself (Skelton, 2001).While there is a paucity of knowledge regarding speciesdiversity in the Zambezi, anthropogenic activities, fromfishing pressure to curtailed migration patterns due todams, are known to impact fish resources along theriver’s entire length. It is therefore critical to assessspecies diversity in various habitats along the stretch ofthe Zambezi River in terms of endangered, rare, andendemic species and related threats from anthropogenicactivities in order to guide planning of conservationinterventions.To fill this knowledge gap, the African WildlifeFoundation (AWF) implemented two sub-projectsMap 1: Four Corners TBNRM Areacentered on field investigations conducted by theAquatic Resources Working Group (ARWG) in the FourCorners Transboundary Natural Resources Management(TBNRM) area (see Mwima and Mandima (2004) andMap 1).The investigations were designed to address two basicrequirements for successful conservation interventionin fisheries resources management in Southern Africa –(i) objectively verifiable scientific information used toinform management decisions and strategies in the formof a fish biodiversity inventory, and (ii) standardizationand harmonization of ecological monitoring methodsby all parties involved in the management of sharedfisheries resources. Fish biodiversity surveys were alsoundertaken by AWF and partners in the Middle Zambezi(Mwima and Mandima (2004) and map 2).All fish biodiversity surveys were started first in orderto inform both resource users and managers on the statusof the resource. This database of fish from this inventorythen forms a benchmark for conservation monitoringover time using standard methodsdeveloped and adopted as perrequirement (ii).Fish Biodiversity Surveys in Upperand Middle ZambeziThe main activities under thiscomponent were concentrated in theFour Corners TBNRM area, where,with leadership from the South AfricaInstitute for Aquatic Biodiversity(SAIAB), AWF conducted three longfield investigations of fish biodiversityin Zambia’s Upper Zambezi. In theMiddle Zambezi, AWF used in-houseexpertise working with staff frompartner institutions (Mwima andMandima (2004) to carry out fourshort field investigations of fishbiodiversity. The objective for theinvestigations in both sites was toproduce baseline assessments of fish2AWF Conservation in Practice PapersJuly 2005
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