Wilson Mhlanga

• M. Sc. Applied Hydrobiology
• Lecturer at Bindura University of Science Education

In March 2020, South Africa and Zimbabwe declared a national state of disaster in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The pandemic response resulted in the confinement of millions of poor people to their homes, particularly those who depend on informal economic activities to survive. The implemented lockdown models were adopted...

This research investigates the economic and social aspects of human–wildlife conflict (HWC) in Mhokwe, Mbire district, Zimbabwe. Data were collected through key informant interviews and a questionnaire survey. Most households in Mhokwe rely on crop and livestock production, and hence, HWC is an important factor affecting livelihoods. More than 60%...

This study was conducted to determine the role of smallholder aquaculture in promoting fish production and enhancing livelihood diversification, income, dietary diversity and food security at household level. A case study approach was used and was based on the 20-member Kushinga fish farming group in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe. Production data wer...

Mashoko Dam is in Ago-ecological Region 4 in Zimbabwe. Five sampling sites were randomly selected and each site was sampled twice per month, for six months. A total of 180 Oreochromis mossambicus fish (101 females and 79 males) were caught. The fish were examined for Clinostomum metacercariae by cutting the ventral side from the anal opening to the...

One of the defining characteristics of inland fisheries is that they are closely impacted by other essential human activities that rely on the same fresh or brackish water ecosystems, such as hydroelectricity generation and irrigated agriculture. Starting with the premise that an understanding of fisheries' interactions with these external sectors...

Lake Kariba and its fisheries are international resources shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe. Despite efforts to harmonize the regulatory system, there are still conflicting approaches of managing the fisheries resources. The paper discusses the divergent approaches and their relation to the sustainable use of the small-scale gill net fishery. Zimbabwe...

Lake Kariba and its fisheries are international resources shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe. Despite efforts to harmonize the regulatory system, there are still conflicting approaches of managing the fisheries resources. The paper discusses the divergent approaches and their relation to the sustainable use of the small-scale gill net fishery. Zimbabwe...

Lake Kariba is a transboundary artificial water body originally constructed for the generation of hydroelectric power. It is now a multipurpose resource that supports economic activities such as commercial fishing, artisanal fishing, aquaculture, tourism and water transport. These economic activities have given rise to intra-sectoral and inter-sect...

Trophy quality (size) coupled with stakeholders " perceptions on elephant (Loxodonta africana), lion (Panthera leo) and buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in Sengwa Wildlife Research Area (SWRA), Zimbabwe were analysed so as to determine the trends for the period 2003 to 2013. Trophy quality data were obtained from hunting records kept at station level in S...

A comparison between historical and current data was done to determine whether the concentrations of total phosphorus, orthophosphate and chlorophyll a, and Secchi disc transparency, have changed in the Sanyati Basin of Lake Kariba following the commencement of cage culture of fish in 1998. Total phosphorus concentration is markedly elevated in com...

The response of phytoplankton assemblages isolated in enclosures for short periods of time was examined in hyper-eutrophic Lake Chivero (Harare, Zimbabwe), to determine the factors that influenced the structure of the phytoplankton community, after noticing a marked decline in the dominance of Microcystis aeruginosa in recent years. The phytoplankt...

Blooming and non-blooming periods between 2004 and 2006 in a hypereutrophic reservoir, where cyanobacterial blooms have previously been reported to be permanent, presented an opportunity to characterise factors that may favour cyanobacterial dominance. As a bloom developed in May 2004, a shift to dominance by Microcystis aeruginosa, similar to comp...

The small-scale (artisanal) fisheries in Zimbabwe play an important role in income-generation and food security at the household level. This sector has the potential to significantly increase its contribution to household income and food security if more effective fisheries management strategies are put in place. Historically, fisheries management...

The aim of this study was to use an empirical mass balance equation to estimate the carrying capacity of Lake Kariba, where cage culture for Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus has been practiced since 1996. The carrying capacity for the lake was estimated at 33.2 x 103 t per year using the Dillon-Rigler phosphorus budget model.

Microcosm experiments were conducted to assess nitrate-induced changes and the effect of varying the ratio of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP) on the winter and late summer phytoplankton communities in Lake Chivero, Zimbabwe. In both winter and summer, nitrate addition altered species composition from a cryptophyte-dominated to a chloroph...

Concentrations of total mercury were determined in Hydrocynus vittatus (Castelnau), Sargochromis codringtonii (Boulenger), and Limnothrissa miodon (Boulenger) from two localities in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. The mean concentrations of total mercury in H. vittatus from Basin 5 and Basin 2 were 0.08 mg kg ⁻¹ and 0.094 mg kg ⁻¹ , respectively. In S. codr...

The fish population of the lower reaches of the Sanyati River was studied using multifilament gillnets and monthly sampling was conducted over 13 consecutive months. A total of 15 fish species belonging to seven families were collected and variations in monthly catches and catch per unit effort and condition were observed. The five most common spec...

Hydroacoustic surveys were carried out on Lake Kariba using predetermined transects in order to determine the abundance of the freshwater sardine, Limnothrissa miodon. The surveys covered four of the lake's five hydrological basins. The spatial distribution of the kapenta was heterogenous. Marked inter-transect variations were observed. Mean densit...

The water quality in fish cages on Lake Kariba was studied. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine whether the water quality parameters differed significantly among the cage-types (cage-type effect). Secchi disç readings ranged from 2 to 4 metres, while temperature ranged from 23°C to 29.5°C. The observed conductivity was between 98.7pS cm a...