Identifying and quantifying chemical threats to the species of “Darwin’s Dreamponds”

Lake Tanganyika is the second largest lake in the world and is a biodiversity hotspot; an estimated 2000 species found within this lake, and ~600 of these are considered endemic. The lake and its basin are also home to over 10 million people, many of whom directly rely on the lake’s resources for their livelihoods. Pollution from chemicals and plastics has been suggested to be a likely major threat to Lake Tanganyika’s biodiversity, and yet few management options currently exist because we have very little baseline data on the extent and nature of these chemical threats. 

This project strives to provide some of the first information about organic chemical pollution as well as micro- and macro-plastic pollution in southern Lake Tanganyika. We will carry out chemicals screenings for compounds such as pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, and flame-retardants, all of which can have detrimental effects on the survival and behaviour of exposed animals. We will also quantify microplastics in the tissues of scientifically and economically important fish species, attempting to pinpoint routes of uptake and origins of plastic particles. This project hopes to provide critically needed data on the current state of chemical pollution in this important freshwater resource.

Project members: Aneesh Bose, Petter Lundberg, Tomas Brodin, Holly Shiels, Lwabanya Mabo.