Abstract:
Sampling for nutrients, Chrolophyll-a and total suspended solids was done in 9 in-lake stations in the
Kenyan part of Lake Victoria between December 2000 and October 2001. In-situ measurements of
temperature, dissolved oxygen and water transparency were also carried out. PO4-P was found to range
from 0.007mg/l to 0.057 mg/l and was higher in the pelagic stations than in littoral stations. NO3-N
concentrations of 0.005-0.037 mg/l were recorded and were found to be relatively higher in the littoral
stations than in the pelagic stations. TN:TP ration of the lake was found to be 6.78 indicating a possibility
of heterocystous blue-green algae dominating. The ratio of 8.6 in the littoral stations showed a potential for
higher photosynthetic rates in this part of the lake than in the pelagic zones.
SRSi levels in the pelagic zones were found to have reduced significantly compared to those reported by
Talling (1965), whereas those in the littoral zone was within the reported range. Water temperature was
found to have increased and transparency values decreased compared to those measured by Worthington
(1930) for both the open waters and within the gulf. Anoxic conditions (DO <1mg/l) were measured in
depths of up to 30m.
