1 TAFIRI Sota box 46 Shirati, Tanzania
2 TAFIRI Dar -es Salaam box 9750, Tanzania

Zooplankton species composition and diversity in southern part of Lake Victoria

Species composition and diversity of the zooplankton communities of the southern part of Lake Victoria were studied. In the littoral zones, zooplankton were collected in March/April, August and December 2001. Overall 20 genera and 29 species of zooplankton were observed in the littoral zones, and in the pelagic waters, 12 genera and 20 species of zooplankton were encountered. Numerical abundance was higher in the pelagic waters than in the littoral areas, the abundance reached 2,481,633 no-2. In the littoral zones the cyclopoid copepod dominated the zooplankton community, the common species being Thermocyclops emini and Thermocyclops neglectus while in the pelagic waters the calanoid copepod Thermodiaptomus galeboides dominated. The abundance of cladocera was increasing with depth the common species was Daphnia Lumhortzi. In the littoral zones the cyclopoid contributed significantly to biomass, but in the pelagic waters, it was the calanoid that significantly contributed.