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The rocky habitats of Lake Malawi, Tanzania
Tanzania, Malawi, Ruvuma Region
The rocky habitats of Lake Malawi – free of sedimentary deposits, with many cracks somewhere between the island of Lundo and the large settlement of Liuli – were taken as an example in the creation of my biotope aquarium of the underwater world.
- Submitted by
- Artem Bereznev
- Approved by
- Ad Konings & Stefano Valdesalici
- GPS
- -11.2218790, 34.7487946
- Geographical region
- Eastern Africa
- Drainage Basin
- Lake Malawi
- River catchment
- Ruhuhu River
- Water body type
- Lake
- Water body name
- Malawi
- Water body part
- Pool
- Water body course
- Middle course
- Water body: tributary of
- River
- Tributary name
- Shire
Videos above and below water
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Water Chemistry
Water information
- Water type
- fresh-water
- Water color
- Clear water
- Water transparency
- High
- Concentration of sediments
- Medium
- Water temperature
- 24 °C
- Water flow/curent
- Slow
Chemical parameters
- pH
- 8.5
- Conductivity
- 240
- GH
- 10 mg/l
- dGH
- KH
- 6.6 mg/l
- dKH
- Dissolved Oxygen
- 90 %
Substrate in nature
- Sand
- Grey
- Pebble/Gravel
- Grey
- Stone
- Black
- Stone form
- Irregular
- Silt/Mud
- None
- Leaves
- no
- Driftwood
- None
- Submerged terrestrial vegetation
- no
Aquatic Biotope
- Date of collecting
- 10/07/2021
- Collecting area
- Open water
- Water depth
- 0,5m
- Air temperature
- 28 °C
- Sunlight
- Partial shade
Environment
- Environment
- Affected by human activity
- Affected by human activity
- Pollution
- Pollution
- Moderate
- Surrounding area
Coastline relief varies from rocky steep shores to extensive beaches.
- Underwater landscape
The average water surface temperature in the lake ranges from 23 to 28°C. Seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation directly affect the transparency of the water: if on a hot February day visibility can be almost zero, then on a calm day in October it can be more than 20 m. In biotopes with a rocky bottom, the water is more transparent than in areas with a silty base. This biotope is a transitional aquatic landscape with both rocks and areas of sandy or silted bottom located at a sufficient depth.
Fish:
- Labidochromis sp. “Hongi“
- Threats to ecology
The main threat is overfishing, a problem fueled by the population explosion that has occurred in Malawi over the past decades. Malawi’s population is growing at 2% per year, with almost half of the country’s population being children under 15 years of age. Fish provides up to 70% of the animal protein in the Malawians’ diet, and the demand for it is constantly growing. The annual catch of fish in the lake is declining slowly, but this is a consequence of increasing fishing activity and the use of prohibited fishing gear for smaller fish.
Riparian zone
- Trees near the aquatic habitat
-
None -
