Lake Chilwa: Studies of Change in a Tropical Ecosystem

Front Matter....Pages i-xviii
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Introduction: Perspectives of research at Lake Chilwa....Pages 3-16
The physical environment of Lake Chilwa....Pages 17-40
The changes in the lake level....Pages 41-58
The aquatic environment: I. Chemical and physical characteristics of Lake Chilwa....Pages 59-78
The aquatic environment: II. Chemical and physical characteristics of the Lake Chilwa swamps....Pages 79-90
Front Matter....Pages 91-91
Algae in Lake Chilwa and the waters of its catchment area....Pages 93-103
The distribution of aquatic macrophytes in Lake Chilwa: Annual and long-term environmental fluctuations....Pages 105-122
Zooplankton in Lake Chilwa: adaptations to changes....Pages 123-141
Decline and recovery of the benthic invertebrate communities....Pages 143-160
Invertebrate communities in the Lake Chilwa swamp in years of high level....Pages 161-173
Fishes: Distribution and biology in relation to changes....Pages 175-208
The fisheries of Lake Chilwa....Pages 209-229
Interactions between swamp and lake....Pages 231-245
Amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds of Chilwa....Pages 247-273
Insects of the floodplain....Pages 275-291
Front Matter....Pages 293-293
The influence of history on Lake Chilwa and its people....Pages 295-308
The people and the land....Pages 309-342
Fishing and fish trading: Socio-economic studies....Pages 343-368
Health and education....Pages 369-395
Front Matter....Pages 397-397
The Lake Chilwa ecosystem — A limnological overview....Pages 399-415
Front Matter....Pages 397-397
Focus on social problems....Pages 417-432
Back Matter....Pages 445-462