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Discerning ecosystem change and food web dynamics underlying anthropogenic eutrophication and the introduction of non-native species is necessary for ensuring the long-term sustainability of fisheries and lake biodiversity. Previous studies of eutrophication in Lake Victoria, eastern Africa, have focused on the loss of endemic fish biodiversity over the past several decades, but changes in the plankton communities over this same time remain unclear. To fill this gap, we examined sediment cores from a eutrophic embayment, Mwanza Gulf, to determine the timing and magnitude of changes in the phytoplankton and zooplankton assemblages over the past century. Biogeochemical proxies indicate nutrient enrichment began around ~ 1920 CE and led to rapid increases in primary production, and our analysis of photosynthetic pigments revealed three zones: pre-eutrophication (prior to 1920 CE), onset of eutrophication with increases in all pigments (1920–1990 CE), and sustained eutrophication with cyanobacterial dominance (1990 CE–present). Cladoceran remains indicate an abrupt decline in biomass in ~ 1960 CE, in response to the cumulative effects of eutrophication and lake-level rise, preceding the collapse of haplochromine cichlids in the 1980s. Alona and Chydorus, typically benthic littoral taxa, have remained at relatively low abundances since the 1960s, whereas the abundance of Bosmina, typically a planktonic taxon, increased in the 1990s concurrently with the biomass recovery of haplochromine cichlid fishes. Overall, our results demonstrate substantial changes over the past century in the biomass structure and taxonomic composition of Mwanza Gulf phytoplankton and zooplankton communities, providing a historical food web perspective that can help understand the recent changes and inform future resource management decisions in the Lake Victoria ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preserved assemblages of invertebrate remains in lacustrine sediment reveal temporal variations of community composition and environmental conditions. However, records for large tropical lakes are scarce. Lake Victoria, the largest tropical lake, has a dynamic history of changes in water level, biogeochemistry and fish community composition over the past ~17,000 cal yr BP.In order to quantify changes in the invertebrate assemblage of Lake Victoria from the late Pleistocene throughout the Holocene, we examined chitinous remains of Cladocera and larval dipterans (Chironomidae and Chaoboridae) from a sediment core (37 m water depth) dated from ~13,700 cal yr BP to present.We identified four major phases in the invertebrate assemblage throughout this period of lake history. Firstly, Chironomidae and Chaoboridae appeared at low abundances during the earliest stages of lake inundation in the late Pleistocene, at a time when Cladocera were notably absent. Secondly, chaoborids and chironomids increased in abundance during the mid‐Holocene, which coincided with high diatom production toward the end of the Holocene African Humid Period. Thirdly, starting ~4,700 cal yr BP, Alona, a predominantly littoral cladoceran genus, consistently appeared in the invertebrate assemblage alongside changes in mixing regimes and persisted throughout the late Holocene to the present. Fourthly, the arrival of both Chydorus and Bosmina longirostris marked the establishment of an abundant cladoceran assemblage at ~1,350 cal yr BP. The assemblage then gradually shifted toward the increasing dominance of B. longirostris, a planktonic cladoceran.Several of the observed changes in the invertebrate assemblage occurred concurrently with changes in climatic conditions in East Africa and diatom productivity that have been previously recorded in Lake Victoria. This multi‐millennial record of sedimentary invertebrate assemblages in Lake Victoria elucidates some of the temporal development of these communities throughout most of the dynamic modern history of the ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Octopus cyanea (Gray, 1849), abundant in the South‐West Indian Ocean (SWIO), constitutes a vital resource for both subsistence and commercial fisheries. However, despite this socioeconomic importance, and recent indications of overfishing, little is known about the population structure of O. cyanea in the region. To inform sustainable management strategies, this study assessed the spatio‐temporal population structure and genetic variability of O. cyanea at 20 sites in the SWIO (Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rodrigues, and the Seychelle Islands) by complementary analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) noncoding region (NCR) sequences and microsatellite markers. MtDNA analysis revealed a shallow phylogeny across the region, with demographic tests suggesting historic population fluctuations that could be linked to glacial cycles. Contrary to expectations, NCR variation was comparable to other mtDNA regions, indicating that the NCR is not a hypervariable region. Both nuclear and mtDNA marker types revealed a lack of genetic structure compatible with high gene flow throughout the region. As adults are sedentary, this gene flow likely reflects connectivity by paralarval dispersal. All samples reported heterozygote deficits, which, given the overall absence of structure, likely reflect ephemeral larval recruitment variability. Levels of mtDNA and nuclear variability were similar at all locations and congruent with those previously reported for harvested Octopodidae, implying resilience to genetic erosion by drift, providing current stock sizes are maintained. However, as O. cyanea stocks in the SWIO represent a single, highly connected population, fisheries may benefit from additional management measures, such as rotational closures aligned with paralarval ecology and spanning geopolitical boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Octopus cyanea (Gray, 1849), abundant in the South‐West Indian Ocean (SWIO), constitutes a vital resource for both subsistence and commercial fisheries. However, despite this socioeconomic importance, and recent indications of overfishing, little is known about the population structure of O. cyanea in the region. To inform sustainable management strategies, this study assessed the spatio‐temporal population structure and genetic variability of O. cyanea at 20 sites in the SWIO (Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rodrigues, and the Seychelle Islands) by complementary analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) noncoding region (NCR) sequences and microsatellite markers. MtDNA analysis revealed a shallow phylogeny across the region, with demographic tests suggesting historic population fluctuations that could be linked to glacial cycles. Contrary to expectations, NCR variation was comparable to other mtDNA regions, indicating that the NCR is not a hypervariable region. Both nuclear and mtDNA marker types revealed a lack of genetic structure compatible with high gene flow throughout the region. As adults are sedentary, this gene flow likely reflects connectivity by paralarval dispersal. All samples reported heterozygote deficits, which, given the overall absence of structure, likely reflect ephemeral larval recruitment variability. Levels of mtDNA and nuclear variability were similar at all locations and congruent with those previously reported for harvested Octopodidae, implying resilience to genetic erosion by drift, providing current stock sizes are maintained. However, as O. cyanea stocks in the SWIO represent a single, highly connected population, fisheries may benefit from additional management measures, such as rotational closures aligned with paralarval ecology and spanning geopolitical boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical freshwater lakes are well known for their high biodiversity, and particularly the East African Great Lakes are renowned for their adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes. While comparative phylogenetic analyses of extant species flocks have revealed patterns and processes of their diversification, little is known about evolutionary trajectories within lineages, the impacts of environmental drivers, or the scope and nature of now‐extinct diversity. Time‐structured palaeodata from geologically young fossil records, such as fossil counts and particularly ancient DNA (aDNA) data, would help fill this large knowledge gap. High ambient temperatures can be detrimental to the preservation of DNA, but refined methodology now allows data generation even from very poorly preserved samples. Here, we show for the first time that fish fossils from tropical lake sediments yield endogenous aDNA. Despite generally low endogenous content and high sample dropout, the application of high‐throughput sequencing and, in some cases, sequence capture allowed taxonomic assignment and phylogenetic placement of 17% of analysed fish fossils to family or tribe level, including remains which are up to 2700 years old or weigh less than 1 mg. The relationship between aDNA degradation and the thermal age of samples is similar to that described for terrestrial samples from cold environments when adjusted for elevated temperature. Success rates and aDNA preservation differed between the investigated lakes Chala, Kivu and Victoria, possibly caused by differences in bottom water oxygenation. Our study demonstrates that the sediment records of tropical lakes can preserve genetic information on rapidly diversifying fish taxa over time scales of millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptive radiations have been instrumental in generating a considerable amount of life’s diversity. Ecological opportunity is thought to be a prerequisite for adaptive radiation1, but little is known about the relative importance of species’ ecological versatility versus effects of arrival order in determining which lineage radiates2. Palaeontological records that could help answer this are scarce. In Lake Victoria, a large adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes evolved in an exceptionally short and recent time interval3. We present a rich continuous fossil record extracted from a series of long sediment cores along an onshore–offshore gradient. We reconstruct the temporal sequence of events in the assembly of the fish community from thousands of tooth fossils. We reveal arrival order, relative abundance and habitat occupation of all major fish lineages in the system. We show that all major taxa arrived simultaneously as soon as the modern lake began to form. There is no evidence of the radiating haplochromine cichlid lineage arriving before others, nor of their numerical dominance upon colonization; therefore, there is no support for ecological priority effects. However, although many taxa colonized the lake early and several became abundant, only cichlids persisted in the new deep and open-water habitats once these emerged. Because these habitat gradients are also known to have played a major role in speciation, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that ecological versatility was key to adaptive radiation, not priority by arrival order nor initial numerical dominance.This study presents a continuous fossil record, extracted from a series of sediment cores, that shows how haplochromine cichlids came to dominate the fish fauna of Lake Victoria in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water quality degradation of urban rivers has become a serious constraint to the sustainable development of big cities in sub-Saharan Africa, and few systematic quantitative studies have been conducted on this issue. Here, we studied three main urban rivers: Mzinga River, Kizinga River, and Msimbazi River in Dar es Salaam, the largest port city on the west coast of the Indian Ocean. The spatial and temporal changes of the physicochemical parameters including DO, pH, oxidation–reduction potential (ORP), electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, total nitrogen (TN), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), chemical oxygen demand (CODMn), total phosphorus (TP), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), soluble reactive phosphate (SRP), and water quality index (WQI) were investigated. The results showed that the middle and lower reaches of the three rivers were severely polluted with N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus) with pollution increasing from the upstream to the downstream. WQI results showed that the water quality of Msimbazi River was in the "poor" category and fluctuated temporally and spatially. Principal component analyses (PCA) implied that redox status and N were the main factors affecting the water quality of the rivers. Unregulated discharges of untreated municipal and industrial wastewaters were the main drivers of water quality degradation in the rivers. Rapid urbanization characterized by population explosion and the small handicraft industry aggravated the situation. Source control and end treatment are urgently needed to prevent the water quality of the urban rivers in Dar es Salaam from deteriorating further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn and their fraction characteristics (except Hg) were investigated in surface sediments of the Mwanza Gulf, Lake Victoria. The ecological risks, bioavailability, and mobility of the metals were also evaluated by using enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (Cf), geo-accumulation index (Igeo), potential ecological risk index (RI), risk assessment code (RAC), individual contamination factor (ICF), and global contamination factor (GCF). Results showed that there were moderate accumulations of heavy metals in sediments from the southern part of the gulf. The mean Cf of heavy metals ranged from 1.19 (Ni) to 2.85 (Hg) suggesting moderate contamination of heavy metals in the sediments while Igeo results showed that the sediments are mainly contaminated by As, Cr, and Hg. The average potential ecological risk of heavy metals in sediments of the Mwanza Gulf is at moderate level (RI 205.49). Hg and Cd posed considerable or moderated risks with mean ecological risk of 114.18 and 44.16, which accounted for 51.08% and 21.54% of the total RI, respectively. High bioavailability and mobility of heavy metals were found in sediments near Mwanza city, particularly Zn and Cd, of which the bioavailability risks were at medium to high levels. Given the biological and environmental importance of the Mwanza Gulf and Lake Victoria, emission paths and bioaccumulation of heavy metals through food webs should be studied carefully to ensure the safety of food and the health and well-being of humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Researchers in the developing countries often have inadequate scientific writing skills to publish their research in international peer reviewed journals. Objectives: To improve the research-and proposal-writing skills of researchers and to evaluate the impact of this intervention. Methods: An off-the-shelf online course (AuthorAID, developed by INASP) was embedded in the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute's (TAFIRI) website and offered to the institute researchers in Tanzania. The 8-week course was followed by a 2-day face-to-face workshop that used the course material contextualized to local conditions, and the combination was repeated one more time. Results: A total of 47 participants completed the course and attended the workshop: 21 (54%) completed the course in 2016 and 26 (67%) in 2017. The number of papers published annually by TAFIRI staff more than tripled between 2016 and 2019 after the AuthorAID intervention, most of them (114, or 91%) by researchers who had undergone the training. Conclusion: Embedding and contextualizing proven learning materials, such as the AuthorAID online course, can be an economical and effective approach to improving the writing skills of scientists in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Researchers in the developing countries often have inadequate scientific writing skills to publish their research in international peer reviewed journals. Objectives: To improve the research-and proposal-writing skills of researchers and to evaluate the impact of this intervention. Methods: An off-the-shelf online course (AuthorAID, developed by INASP) was embedded in the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute's (TAFIRI) website and offered to the institute researchers in Tanzania. The 8-week course was followed by a 2-day faceto-face workshop that used the course material contextualized to local conditions, and the combination was repeated one more time. Results: A total of 47 participants completed the course and attended the workshop: 21 (54%) completed the course in 2016 and 26 (67%) in 2017. The number of papers published annually by TAFIRI staff more than tripled between 2016 and 2019 after the AuthorAID intervention, most of them (114, or 91%) by researchers who had undergone the training. Conclusion: Embedding and contextualizing proven learning materials, such as the AuthorAID online course, can be an economical and effective approach to improving the writing skills of scientists in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speciation rates vary considerably among lineages, and our understanding of what drives the rapid succession of speciation events within young adaptive radiations remains incomplete1–11. The cichlid fish family provides a notable example of such variation, with many slowly speciating lineages as well as several exceptionally large and rapid radiations12. Here, by reconstructing a large phylogeny of all currently described cichlid species, we show that explosive speciation is solely concentrated in species flocks of several large young lakes. Increases in the speciation rate are associated with the absence of top predators; however, this does not sufficiently explain explosive speciation. Across lake radiations, we observe a positive relationship between the speciation rate and enrichment of large insertion or deletion polymorphisms. Assembly of 100 cichlid genomes within the most rapidly speciating cichlid radiation, which is found in Lake Victoria, reveals exceptional 'genomic potential'—hundreds of ancient haplotypes bear insertion or deletion polymorphisms, many of which are associated with specific ecologies and shared with ecologically similar species from other older radiations elsewhere in Africa. Network analysis reveals fundamentally non-treelike evolution through recombining old haplotypes, and the origins of ecological guilds are concentrated early in the radiation. Our results suggest that the combination of ecological opportunity, sexual selection and exceptional genomic potential is the key to understanding explosive adaptive radiation. Analyses of the genomes of cichlid species reveal that the combination of ecological opportunity, sexual selection and exceptional genomic potential is the key to understanding explosive adaptive radiation in cichlids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]