Report of the Frame Survey of Lake Albert conducted in May 2012

Lake Albert and Albert Nile are a major source of fisheries resources sustaining the riparian communities in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Like all shared bodies of Uganda Lake Albert and Albert Nile fisheries are faced with immense exploitation pressure one time described as the tragedy of the commons. In Uganda, the lake is shared by five riparian districts namely: Buliisa, Bundibugyo, Hoima, Kibaale and Nebbi. The lake covers a total estimated surface area of 5,270 square kilometers with approximately 60% within Ugandan waters. It is located in the western part of the great rift-valley at an altitude of 618 m above Sea level. The central parts of the lake are characterized by steep escarpments whereas the northern and southern parts lie in a plain of the rift valley. The plains are gently sloping, resulting in shallow swampy inshore waters in many places. The major inflowing rivers are the Semliki and Kafu in the south, and the Victoria Nile at the northern tip. The lake has a diverse fish fauna with a gradient of multi-species fisheries in different parts of the lake. The overall objective of the Frame Survey was to provide information on the facilities and services at landing sites and the composition, magnitude and distribution of fishing effort to guide development and management of the fisheries resources of Lake Albert and Albert Nile. The specific objectives were to provide information on: a) The number of fish landing sites; b) The facilities available at the fish landing sites to service the sector including accessibility; c) The service providers especially fisheries staff at fish landing sites; d) The number of fishers; e) The number and types of fishing crafts and their mode of propulsion; f) The number, types and sizes of fishing gears used on the lake and their mode of operation.

A report on the fisheries of Uganda investigated by the Cambridge Expedition to the East African Lakes, 1930-31

There was very little previous information to use as a basis for work on Lakes Edward and George, but fortunately the region had been mapped in some detail by the Uganda-Congo Boundary Commission of 1906-08. This map served as a satisfactory foundation, but the western Congo shoreline of Lake Edward was inserted only by a dotted line, and a number of inaccuracies, particularly with regard to the islands and littoral of L. George, came to light during our survey.

Some remarks on the colour patterns of east African freshwater crabs

Very few accounts of African potamonids refer to natural colouration, and the author cannot recall any describing colour patterns. The generally undistinguished appearance of these crabs is well illustrated by Rathbun (1921) on the Congo Brachyura which includes collector's notes on a number of potamonid species. This article is based on remarks extracted from a communication sent to Dr. C. H. Fernando in connection with the article "Colour patterns in Ceylonese freshwater crabs (Patomonidae)", Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Station, Ceylon, v. 21.1(1970), pp. 1-4.

The fisheries resources of Lake Nakivali

Lake Nakivali is one of the four small lakes that form what is known as the koki lake sysyem. It is 14km long,6km wide.26km sqaured in area and has maximum depth of 3.5m at high water level. The lake is located in lake-swamp complex with river Rwizi as the principle inflow, and a number of peripheral lakes among which are four major ones,i.e Lake Nakivali, Mburo, Kachira and Kijanebalola. Lake Nakivali is a controlled lake with four official landing sites, namely: Kikusi, Kahirimbi, Kashojwa and Rukinga. The latter three are located within a Refugee settlement whereas Kikusi is outside. The Nakivali Refugee settlement initially established for Rwandese of Tutsi origin in 1963, now has at least seven nationalities which include people from Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Eritrea. By the end of 2006, the lake’s hinterland of about 378 km squared contained 43,448 people of whom 22,448 were refugees. This large population has had stressful impacts on both land and lake resources to the extent that now there is an apparent overfishing on the lake.

A review of the fisheries of the Uganda waters of Lake Albert East Africa, 1928-1965/66, with catch data mainly from 1953

An historical account is given of the development of the Lake Albert fisheries since Worthington's survey in 1928. It is noted that the development of the fisheries was related to, and dependent upon, improvements in the type of gear and canoes, an incFease in the number of canoes and outboard engines in use, improved marketing facilities and better road communications. Summarized data, collected mainly since 1954, has been analysed and tabulated to show annual exports to the Congo, total annual catches 'and annual catches of individual species. A change in the relative abundance of the various species in the annual catches is described. It is noted that this change was caused by a change-over from large to small mesh size gill-nets, and that it was associated with an increased demand within Uganda for the smaller species of fish, such as Aleste's baremose and Hydrocynus forskahlii. A brief description of fish processing and marketing in the Lake Albert region is given, which emphasizes the suitability of salt-cured fish to the social and physical environment of the area. Finally, a summary of a recent survey of the potential fish resources of the lake is given in the discussion, and estimates of the 1965 catch at the north and south ends of the lake are compared with the findings of the survey. This showed that there is little danger of overfishing the Alestes baremose stocks of the Wanseko area at the 1965 rate of exploitation of the species, and that the total catch for 1965 at the south end of the lake was well below the estimated annual sustainable yield from the area.

Management of the nile perch, Lates niloticus, fishery in Lake Victoria in light of the changes in its life history characteristics

Nile perch, Lates niloticus Linnaeus, 1758, is a predatory fish of high commercial and recreational value. It can grow to a length of 2 m and a weight of 200 kg. In Uganda, Nile perch was originally found only in Lake Albert and the River Nile below Murchison Falls. The species is, however, widely distributed in Africa, occurring in the Nile system below Murchison Falls, the Congo, Niger, Volta, Senegal and in Lakes Chad and Turkana (Greenwood 1966).

Invertebrate communitites of lakes Mutanda, Mulehe, Kayumbu and Chahafi and their role in fishery production

Kisoro is a small district (734 km2 ) located in the highland areas of south western Uganda; bordering with Rwanda in the south, Democratic Republic of Congo in the west and Kabale District in the north and the east. The district contains four medium- to- small lakes namely: Mutanda (26.4 km2 ), Mulehe (4.1 km\ Kayumbu (2.2 km2) and Chahafi 1.0 km2). These lakes support small subsistence fisheries for a largely agricultural local population. They are, therefore, locally important as a source of animal (fish) protein, income and employment to the riparian human communities. The fish species include tilapiine fishes: Oreochromis niloticus, 0. leucostictus, Tilapia zillii; Clarias carsoni (Nsonzi), Barbus spp, Cyprinus carpio (Common carp) and the red shrimps

Report on the frame survey of Lake Albert conducted in May 2012

Lake Albert and Albert Nile are a major source of fisheries resources sustaining the riparian communities in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Like all shared bodies of Uganda Lake Albert and Albert Nile fisheries are faced with immense exploitation pressure one time described as the tragedy of the commons. In Uganda, the lake is shared by five riparian districts namely: Buliisa, bundibugyo, Hoima, Kibaale and Nebbi. The lake covers a total estimated surface area of 5,270 km2 with approximately 60% within Ugandan waters (Walker, 1972). It is located in the western part of the great rift-valley at an altitude of 618 m above Sea level. The central parts of the lake are characterized by steep escarpments whereas the northern and southern parts lie in a plain of the rift valley. The plains are gently sloping, resulting in shallow swampy inshore waters in many places. The major inflowing rivers are the Semliki and Kafu in the south, and the Victoria Nile at the northern tip. The lake has a diverse fish fauna with a gradient of multi-species fisheries in different parts of the lake.

Purification and structure identification of hyaluronic acid

Polysaccharide produced by mutated strain of Streptococcus zooepidemicus was purified by the procedures including Savage method, quaternary ammonium compound precipitation, DEAE-cellulose(DE52) chromatography and Sephadex G-75 gel filtration. The structure of the purified polysaccharide has been characterized by means of chemical composition analysis, C-13 NMR spectrum, infrared spectrum and circular dichroism (CD). All the results showed that the purified polysaccharide was hyaluronic acid (HA). The single helix conformation of the purified HA was determined by Congo red experiment. The molecular weight of the HA was about 1.16x10(6)D, which was measured by viscosity method.

Genocide: A History

Rubinstein, William, Genocide: A History (Harlow: Pearson Longman, 2004), pp.vii+322 RAE2008

Hydrocarbon Potential of the Infra-salt Strata

This schematic geological cross-section of Angola offshore is representative of the majority of the Atlantic-type divergent margins. It illustrates the main geological features allowing to understand the different petroleum systems occurring, particularly, in South Atlantic divergent margins : (i) Pre-Pangea rocks (Precambrian granite-gneiss basement, volcanic rocks an/ or Paleozoic sediments, more or less, metamorphosed), which lie underneath the pre-rifting unconformity (PRU), in blue in the cross-section ; (ii) The rift-type basins developed during the lengthening of the Pangea supercontinent ; (iii) The breakup unconformity (BUU), which highlight the upper limit of the rift-type basins, in which organic rich lacustrine shales with a parallel internal configuration are potential source-rocks (organic matter type I) ; (iv) The SDRs (seaward dipping reflectors), which, generally, do not have any generating hydrocarbon potential (just 5 m of lacustrine shales are known in Austral basin) ; (v) The BUU is fossilized by SDRs (subaerial volcanism) or by margin infra-salt sediments (forming the mistakenly called by some American geoscientists "sag basin") ; (vi) The Loeme salt basin, which is a twin of the Brazilian salt basin, that is to say, that both basins have always been individualized ; (vii) The transgressive (backstepping) and regressive (forestepping) phases of the post-Pangea continental encroachment cycle ; (v) The interface between these sedimentary phases, correspond to the emplacement of potential marine source-rocks (organic matter type-II) ; (vi) Potential dispersive source rocks (organic matter type III) are possible in the regressive sedimentary interval.

Profiling phytochemical and nutritional components of potato

Potatoes (Solanum Tuberosum L.) contain secondary metabolites that may have an impact on human health. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of some of these compounds in a wide range of varieties, including rare, heritage and commercial cultivars. Vitamin C, total carotenoids, phenolics, flavonoids, antioxidant activity and glycoalkaloids were determined, using spectroscopy and chromatography, in the skin and flesh of tubers grown in field trials. Transcript levels of key synthetic enzymes were assessed by qPCR. Accumulation of selected metabolites was higher in the skin than in the flesh of tubers, except ascorbate, which was undetected in the skin. Differences were on average 2.5 to 3-fold for carotenoids, 6-fold for phenolics, 15 to 16-fold for flavonoids, 21-fold for glycoalkaloids and 9 to 10-fold for antioxidant activity. Higher contents of carotenoids were associated with yellow skin or flesh, and higher values of phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant activity with blue flesh. Variety ‘Burren’ had maxima values of carotenoids in skin and flesh, variety ‘Nicola’ of ascorbate, variety ‘Congo’ of phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant activity in both tissues, except antioxidant activity in the skin, which was higher in ‘Edzell Blue’. Varieties ‘May Queen’ and ‘International Kidney’ had highest glycoalkaloid content in skin and flesh respectively. The effect of the environment was diverse: year of cultivation was significant for all metabolites, but site of cultivation was not for carotenoids and glycoalkaloids. Levels of expression of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and chalcone synthase were higher in varieties accumulating high contents of phenolic compounds. However, levels of expression of phytoene synthase and L-galactono-1,4-lactone dehydrogenase were not different between varieties showing contrasting levels of carotenoids and ascorbate respectively. This work will help identify varieties that could be marketed as healthier and the most suitable varieties for extraction of high-value metabolites such as glycoalkaloids.

Chimpanzees and bonobos exhibit divergent spatial memory development.

Spatial cognition and memory are critical cognitive skills underlying foraging behaviors for all primates. While the emergence of these skills has been the focus of much research on human children, little is known about ontogenetic patterns shaping spatial cognition in other species. Comparative developmental studies of nonhuman apes can illuminate which aspects of human spatial development are shared with other primates, versus which aspects are unique to our lineage. Here we present three studies examining spatial memory development in our closest living relatives, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (P. paniscus). We first compared memory in a naturalistic foraging task where apes had to recall the location of resources hidden in a large outdoor enclosure with a variety of landmarks (Studies 1 and 2). We then compared older apes using a matched memory choice paradigm (Study 3). We found that chimpanzees exhibited more accurate spatial memory than bonobos across contexts, supporting predictions from these species' different feeding ecologies. Furthermore, chimpanzees - but not bonobos - showed developmental improvements in spatial memory, indicating that bonobos exhibit cognitive paedomorphism (delays in developmental timing) in their spatial abilities relative to chimpanzees. Together, these results indicate that the development of spatial memory may differ even between closely related species. Moreover, changes in the spatial domain can emerge during nonhuman ape ontogeny, much like some changes seen in human children.

Dispersal and Integration in Female Chimpanzees

In chimpanzees, most females disperse from the community in which they were born to reproduce in a new community, thereby eliminating the risk of inbreeding with close kin. However, across sites, some females breed in their natal community, raising questions about the flexibility of dispersal, the costs and benefits of different strategies and the mitigation of costs associated with dispersal and integration. In this dissertation I address these questions by combining long-term behavioral data and recent field observations on maturing and young adult females in Gombe National Park with an experimental manipulation of relationship formation in captive apes in the Congo.

To assess the risk of inbreeding for females who do and do not disperse, 129 chimpanzees were genotyped and relatedness between each dyad was calculated. Natal females were more closely related to adult community males than were immigrant females. By examining the parentage of 58 surviving offspring, I found that natal females were not more related to the sires of their offspring than were immigrant females, despite three instances of close inbreeding. The sires of all offspring were less related to the mothers than non-sires regardless of the mother’s residence status. These results suggest that chimpanzees are capable of detecting relatedness and that, even when remaining natal, females can largely avoid, though not eliminate, inbreeding.

Next, I examined whether dispersal was associated with energetic, social, physiological and/or reproductive costs by comparing immigrant (n=10) and natal (n=9) females of similar age using 2358 hours of observational data. Natal and immigrant females did not differ in any energetic metric. Immigrant females received aggression from resident females more frequently than natal females. Immigrants spent less time in social grooming and more time self-grooming than natal females. Immigrant females primarily associated with resident males, had more social partners and lacked close social allies. There was no difference in levels of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in immigrant and natal females. Immigrant females gave birth 2.5 years later than natal females, though the survival of their first offspring did not differ. These results indicate that immigrant females in Gombe National Park do not face energetic deficits upon transfer, but they do enter a hostile social environment and have a delayed first birth.

Next, I examined whether chimpanzees use condition- and phenotype-dependent cues in making dispersal decisions. I examined the effect of social and environmental conditions present at the time females of known age matured (n=25) on the females’ dispersal decisions. Females were more likely to disperse if they had more male maternal relatives and thus, a high risk of inbreeding. Females with a high ranking mother and multiple maternal female kin tended to disperse less frequently, suggesting that a strong female kin network provides benefits to the maturing daughter. Females were also somewhat less likely to disperse when fewer unrelated males were present in the group. Habitat quality and intrasexual competition did not affect dispersal decisions. Using a larger sample of 62 females observed as adults in Gombe, I also detected an effect of phenotypic differences in personality on the female’s dispersal decisions; extraverted, agreeable and open females were less likely to disperse.

Natural observations show that apes use grooming and play as social currency, but no experimental manipulations have been carried out to measure the effects of these behaviors on relationship formation, an essential component of integration. Thirty chimpanzees and 25 bonobos were given a choice between an unfamiliar human who had recently groomed or played with them over one who did not. Both species showed a preference for the human that had interacted with them, though the effect was driven by males. These results support the idea that grooming and play act as social currency in great apes that can rapidly shape social relationships between unfamiliar individuals. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the use of social currency in female apes.

I conclude that dispersal in female chimpanzees is flexible and the balance of costs and benefits varies for each individual. Females likely take into account social cues present at maturity and their own phenotype in choosing a settlement path and are especially sensitive to the presence of maternal male kin. The primary cost associated with philopatry is inbreeding risk and the primary cost associated with dispersal is delay in the age at first birth, presumably resulting from intense social competition. Finally, apes may strategically make use of affiliative behavior in pursuing particular relationships, something that should be useful in the integration process.

Graded Relative Evidence

Relative Evidential Supports (RES) was developed and justified several years ago as a non-numeric apparatus that allows us to compare evidential supports for alternative conclusions when making a decision. An extension called Graded Relative Evidence (GRE) of the RES concept of pairwise balancing and trading-off of evidence is reported here which keeps its basic features of simplicity and perspicacity but enriches its modelling fidelity by permitting very modest and intuitive variations in degrees of outweighing (which the essentially binary RES does not). The formal justification is very simply based on linkages to RES and to the Dempster - Shafer theory of evidence. The use of the simple extension is illustrated and to a small degree further justified empirically by application to a topical scientific debate about what is called the Congo Crossover Conjecture here. This decision-making instance is chosen because of the wealth of evidence that has been accumulated on both sides of the debate and the range of evidence strengths manifested in it. The conjecture is that the advent of Aids was in the late 1950s in the Congo when a vaccine for polio was allegedly cultivated in the kidneys of chimpanzees which allowed the Aids infection to cross over to humans from primates. © 2005 Springer.