caa a22 4500 445891696 CHVBK 20180317145618.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20111101xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10750-011-0829-7 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10750-011-0829-7 Distribution and faunal richness of Cladocera in western Uganda crater lakes [Elektronische Daten] [Bob Rumes, Hilde Eggermont, Dirk Verschuren] In this study, we analyse the distribution and species richness of epibenthic and planktonic Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) in 62 Uganda crater lakes, spread across the climatic gradient between the sub-humid shoulder and semi-arid floor of the East African Rift Valley. Together, these lakes cover large environmental gradients in salinity, trophic conditions and depth. In total, 36 species of Cladocera were encountered in the freshwater lakes (<1,500μS/cm), whereas only a single species was found in the true saline lakes (>10,000μS/cm). Cladoceran species richness in individual lakes was found to be determined primarily by the presence of a well-developed littoral belt of submerged and emergent aquatic macrophytes, pH and salinity. The highest species richness occurred in fresh but eutrophic shallow waters, with relatively low pH (6.5-7) and dense aquatic macrophyte growth. As identified by multivariate statistical analysis, the distribution of Cladocera species among the Uganda lakes was most strongly determined by nutrient availability (measured as total phosphorus), the presence and diversity of aquatic macrophyte habitat, pH, mean annual temperature and the fraction of the crater catchment that is currently under agriculture. Since Cladocera play an important role in aquatic food webs, and as such contribute to the ecological integrity of aquatic ecosystems, an increased understanding of the environmental controls underlying their distribution provides valuable information on aquatic ecosystem functioning needed for management and conservation. The significant turnover of cladoceran species composition along the sampled environmental gradients demonstrates their potential as biological indicators for water quality and ecosystem health in East African lakes. Our results suggest that changes in land use are the greatest threat to natural ecosystem functioning in these African lakes, and particularly so in the shallower lakes. Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2011 Aquatic macrophytes nationallicence Crustacea nationallicence East African Rift Valley nationallicence Environmental control nationallicence Habitat nationallicence Species distribution nationallicence Rumes Bob Limnology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut Eggermont Hilde Limnology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut Verschuren Dirk Limnology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut Hydrobiologia Springer Netherlands 676/1(2011-11-01), 39-56 0018-8158 676:1<39 2011 676 10750 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0829-7 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0829-7 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Rumes Bob Limnology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Eggermont Hilde Limnology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Verschuren Dirk Limnology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000, Ghent, Belgium aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Hydrobiologia Springer Netherlands 676/1(2011-11-01), 39-56 0018-8158 676:1<39 2011 676 10750 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer