Increasing anthropogenic stressors influenced the water quality and shifted trophic status of northern Lake Tana Gulf, Ethiopia
Nutrients in an aquatic system determine productivity, integrity and ecological status of the aquatic system. However, the excessive enrichment of these nutrients emanating from severe anthropogenic activity has substantially impacted water quality and biodiversity. There is diminutive information a...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| author | Flipos Engdaw Tadesse Fetahi Demeke Kifle |
| author_facet | Flipos Engdaw Tadesse Fetahi Demeke Kifle |
| author_sort | Flipos Engdaw |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nutrients in an aquatic system determine productivity, integrity and ecological status of the aquatic system. However, the excessive enrichment of these nutrients emanating from severe anthropogenic activity has substantially impacted water quality and biodiversity. There is diminutive information available on the water quality and trophic status of the northern Gulf of Lake Tana, Ethiopia due to accessibility difficulties. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the spatio-temporal changes in water quality and trophic status of Lake Tana, specifically the Gulf of Gorgora. Samples were collected from five sampling points between May 2023 to April 2024, and sampling sites were selected based on their proximity to human interference. The physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ or determined in water samples using standard methods. There were significant (p < 0.05) variations in temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity (EC) and turbidity between the dry and rainy seasons. The mean concentrations of nutrients such as NO3-N (0.48 mg/l), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) (1.2 mg/l) total nitrogen (TN) (1.27 mg/l), and total phosphorus (TP) (2.1 mg/l), showed significant spatio-temporal variations, with higher concentrations recorded at the Megech and Dablo sites during the rainy seasons. The depth-wise distributions of the parameters exhibited a consistent pattern, with a slight increase in the levels of EC, turbidity, TP, and TN, and a decrease in temperature, DO and NO3-N. The concentrations of SRP, TP, and TN, were slightly higher than the USEPA's threshold concentrations for causing eutrophication. The shift in the trophic status of Lake Tana from oligo-mesotrophic to eutrophic is likely due to nutrient enrichment associated with anthropogenic stressors. Therefore, continuous monitoring is essential to avert future ecological imbalances in the lake. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4082755cbfb94b78924886fd37dffeee |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj-art-4082755cbfb94b78924886fd37dffeee2025-01-17T04:50:21ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-01-01111e41162Increasing anthropogenic stressors influenced the water quality and shifted trophic status of northern Lake Tana Gulf, EthiopiaFlipos Engdaw0Tadesse Fetahi1Demeke Kifle2African Center of Excellence for Water Management, Addis Ababa University, 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, University of Gondar, 196, Gondar, Ethiopia; Corresponding author. African Center of Excellence for Water Management, Addis Ababa University, 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, 1176, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaDepartment of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, 1176, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaNutrients in an aquatic system determine productivity, integrity and ecological status of the aquatic system. However, the excessive enrichment of these nutrients emanating from severe anthropogenic activity has substantially impacted water quality and biodiversity. There is diminutive information available on the water quality and trophic status of the northern Gulf of Lake Tana, Ethiopia due to accessibility difficulties. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the spatio-temporal changes in water quality and trophic status of Lake Tana, specifically the Gulf of Gorgora. Samples were collected from five sampling points between May 2023 to April 2024, and sampling sites were selected based on their proximity to human interference. The physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ or determined in water samples using standard methods. There were significant (p < 0.05) variations in temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity (EC) and turbidity between the dry and rainy seasons. The mean concentrations of nutrients such as NO3-N (0.48 mg/l), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) (1.2 mg/l) total nitrogen (TN) (1.27 mg/l), and total phosphorus (TP) (2.1 mg/l), showed significant spatio-temporal variations, with higher concentrations recorded at the Megech and Dablo sites during the rainy seasons. The depth-wise distributions of the parameters exhibited a consistent pattern, with a slight increase in the levels of EC, turbidity, TP, and TN, and a decrease in temperature, DO and NO3-N. The concentrations of SRP, TP, and TN, were slightly higher than the USEPA's threshold concentrations for causing eutrophication. The shift in the trophic status of Lake Tana from oligo-mesotrophic to eutrophic is likely due to nutrient enrichment associated with anthropogenic stressors. Therefore, continuous monitoring is essential to avert future ecological imbalances in the lake.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024171939Anthropogenic stressorEutrophicationNutrient enrichmentPollutionTrophic statusWater quality |
| spellingShingle | Flipos Engdaw Tadesse Fetahi Demeke Kifle Increasing anthropogenic stressors influenced the water quality and shifted trophic status of northern Lake Tana Gulf, Ethiopia Heliyon Anthropogenic stressor Eutrophication Nutrient enrichment Pollution Trophic status Water quality |
| title | Increasing anthropogenic stressors influenced the water quality and shifted trophic status of northern Lake Tana Gulf, Ethiopia |
| title_full | Increasing anthropogenic stressors influenced the water quality and shifted trophic status of northern Lake Tana Gulf, Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Increasing anthropogenic stressors influenced the water quality and shifted trophic status of northern Lake Tana Gulf, Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increasing anthropogenic stressors influenced the water quality and shifted trophic status of northern Lake Tana Gulf, Ethiopia |
| title_short | Increasing anthropogenic stressors influenced the water quality and shifted trophic status of northern Lake Tana Gulf, Ethiopia |
| title_sort | increasing anthropogenic stressors influenced the water quality and shifted trophic status of northern lake tana gulf ethiopia |
| topic | Anthropogenic stressor Eutrophication Nutrient enrichment Pollution Trophic status Water quality |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024171939 |
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