An Analysis of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Communities in Lake Victoria, Kenya on Microcystin Toxicity

Githukia, Cecilia Muthoni; Onyango, David Miruka; Lusweti, Dorcas; Ramkat, Rose C.; Kowenje, Chrispin O.; Miruka, Jared; Lung’ayia, Henry; Orina, Paul

doi:10.4236/oje.2022.123012

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The situation is worsened by the equatorial climate in the lake region, where the warm heat lengthens the duration of harmful algal blooms, exacerbating the release of toxins by cyanobacteria (Paerl & Huisman, 2009). Previous research from several studies has established the existence of microcystin in Lake Victoria (Githukia et al, 2022;Mchau et al, 2019;Miles et al, 2013;Simiyu et al, 2018).…”

Section: Water Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threats to aquatic biodiversity and possible management strategies in Lake Victoria

Muthoka,

Ogello,

Outa

et al. 2023

Aquaculture Fish & Fisheries

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Lake Victoria is the second‐largest freshwater lake in the world, with a surface area of 68,800 km2. The lake is rich in natural resources that are essential to the local economy and livelihoods. However, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) ranks 76% of freshwater species endemic to the Lake Victoria Basin as threatened with extinction. The biodiversity richness of the lake is still diminishing, and the risk of species extinction is increasing. Many species are yet to be identified, and thus the number of species threatened with extinction exceeds what is currently known. Furthermore, the lake is home to species that are found nowhere else on the planet, but its protection is never given the attention it needs. Genetic diversity loss is harmful to future populations and influences sustainability of the ecosystem. The decline in Lake Victoria's biodiversity is primarily attributed to various pressing issues, including water pollution, invasive species, climate change, overexploitation and the challenges stemming from high human population density. These problems are exacerbated by inadequate regulatory enforcement and a lack of comprehensive data and information to inform and guide conservation efforts. If these factors are not addressed, they may have a detrimental impact on Lake Biodiversity. This article aims to document the main threats to aquatic biodiversity as well as potential management strategies for preventing further losses of the aquatic biodiversity in Lake Victoria. The study recommends reviewing, bolstering and reinforcing the rules and regulations governing the extraction, accessibility and discharge of nutrients into the lake. The national governments should work with local governments, non‐governmental organizations and local people to safeguard and conserve the lake's biodiversity. The national governments of the riparian nations should also reserve funds each fiscal year specifically for research that would inform effective management measures to prevent further losses of the lake's biodiversity.

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Section: Water Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Threats to aquatic biodiversity and possible management strategies in Lake Victoria

Muthoka,

Ogello,

Outa

et al. 2023

Aquaculture Fish & Fisheries

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“…The high levels of urbanization, industrialization and the large number of human settlements on the shores of L. Victoria has led to its inevitable pollution by both legacy and contaminants of emerging concern [30,31]. With a long retention time (23 years) and a flushing time of 123 years [29], various studies have found contaminants such as microplastics [30,[32][33][34][35], polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [36][37][38], per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances [39][40][41], active pharmaceutical ingredients and personal care products [42], agrochemicals [43], HMs, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, alternative flame retardants [44,45] and cyanotoxins [46][47][48] in the water and fish from L. Victoria. Despite the foregoing studies, there is paucity of reports on the HM contamination of sediments from fish landing sites and ports on the Ugandan portion of L. Victoria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavy Metal Contamination of Sediments from an Exoreic African Great Lakes’ Shores (Port Bell, Lake Victoria), Uganda

et al. 2022

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Lake Victoria (L. Victoria) is the largest African tropical and freshwater lake, with one of the highest pollution levels, globally. It is shared among Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, but it is drained only by the river Nile, the longest river in Africa. Though environmental studies have been conducted in the lake, investigations of the heavy metals (HMs) contamination of sediments from fish landing sites and ports on the Ugandan portion of L. Victoria are limited. In this study, sediments of an urban, industrial and fish landing site (Port Bell) on L. Victoria, Uganda was investigated to establish its HMs pollution levels and potential health risks to humans and ecosystems. Sediment samples were collected in triplicate (n = 9) from three different points of Port Bell, digested and analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry for the presence of these HMs: copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr). The average daily dose through dermal contact and hazard quotient (HQ) were calculated to assess the health risk that is associated with dredging works (lake sand mining). Four geochemical enrichment indices: contamination factor (CF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), pollution load index (PLI) and potential ecological risk (PERI) were used to quantify the contamination of the HMs in the sediments. The results showed that the mean HM content of the samples ranged from: 6.111 ± 0.01 to 7.111 ± 0.002 mg/kg for Cu; from 40.222 ± 0.003 to 44.212 ± 0.002 mg/kg for Pb; from 0.352 ± 0.007 to 0.522 ± 0.010 mg/kg for Cr; from 3.002 ± 0.002 to 3.453 ± 0.003 mg/kg for Cd. Health risk assessments indicated that there are no discernible non-carcinogenic health risks that could arise from the dredging works that are conducted in the study area as the indices were all below one. The contamination factors that were obtained suggest that Cd has reached a state of severe enrichment in the sediments (CF > 6). An assessment using Igeo established that the sediments were not contaminated with regards to Cu and Cr, but they exhibited low-to-median and median contamination with respect to Pb and Cd, respectively. Though the pollution load indices show that the contamination levels raise no serious concerns, the potential ecological risk indices show that there is considerable pollution of the Port Bell sediments, particularly with regard to Cd. Upon examination using multivariate statistical analyses, Cd and Cr showed a strong correlation which alluded to their introduction from anthropogenic sources. Based on the sedimentary HMs concentrations and the environmental indices that are employed in this study, it is recommended that the spatial variations in the concentrations of the HMs in water, sediments and biota should be monitored.

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A Bibliometric Analysis of Geosmin Removal and Treatment Technologies using Web of Science Database and VOSviewer

NOVO,

SILVA,

BERTOLINO

et al. 2024

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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In the last few years, the presence of geosmin (GEO) in water bodies has caused serious problems related to water consumption by the population. Many studies focus on its occurrence and detection, but little is discussed about the technologies for treatment and removal of this contaminant. In this way, the present work aims to present a bibliographic search and a bibliometric analysis carried out in the Web of Science database and in VOSviewer software about geosmin remediation, in the last 10 years. 100 articles were found, of which only one, from 2021, was a review. It was possible to assess that the subject has gained greater notoriety in the last 7 years, since the year 2016 marked the increase of publications on the subject, as well as an increasing number of citations. Among the most published countries is the People's Republic of China, with 53% of publications. Bibliometric analysis showed that GEO is directly related to 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB), since both occur simultaneously in water bodies. In addition, it was possible to identify that adsorptive processes are the most used in the removal of these contaminants, followed by advanced oxidative processes and biological processes, in that order.

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An Analysis of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Communities in Lake Victoria, Kenya on Microcystin Toxicity

Cited by 5 publications

References 18 publications

Threats to aquatic biodiversity and possible management strategies in Lake Victoria

Threats to aquatic biodiversity and possible management strategies in Lake Victoria

Heavy Metal Contamination of Sediments from an Exoreic African Great Lakes’ Shores (Port Bell, Lake Victoria), Uganda

A Bibliometric Analysis of Geosmin Removal and Treatment Technologies using Web of Science Database and VOSviewer

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