The unusual reddish-bloom appearance in a freshwater fishpond at Kingolwira National Fish Farming Center, Morogoro, Tanzania
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Date
2020-05
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IJE
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.
Description
International Journal of Environment. pp, 204-216
Keywords
Harmful algae, Microcystis, Reddish-bloom, Euglenophytes, FlowCAM