| Page last updated
12 August 2009 |
MUSSELp Sampling Sites in Zambia, 2009
From 22 July to 7 August, DLG, Phil Harris, William Bone (all University of Alabama), and Alex Chilala of the Zambia Department of Fisheries sampled freshwater mussels in the Congo Basin of Zambia. Mollusks (live and shells only) were found at 10 sites, with the most effort focused on sites in the SE portion of Lake Mweru.
Many of the sampling sites had been visited on previous collecting trips in either 2005, 2007, or 2008 but under higher water conditions. Details of our sampling sites are transcribed below from our notebooks. Geographical coordinates were determined using a hand-held GPS, and links from the geocodes map the sites on Google Maps.
MPZ-2009-01: Kashikishi
Lake Mweru, Kashikishi, near Nchelenge, Zambia.
-9.319, 28.728
26-27 July 2009; DLG, Alex Chilala, Phil Harris, & William Bone!
[=MPZ-2007-10]
In the beach frass in front of the fishing village. Found lots of pieces of M. hargeri and Prisodontopsis. Three live Prisodontopsis [26 July]. Our arrangement to get more the next day was actually a bust. Met some guys on 27 July with more live Prisodontopsis and one M. mweruensis.
There is a wide sand bar in front of the site that provides good mussel habitat.
While the beach has a steep slope, the shallow water extends as a bar to provide the best mussel habitat in the area.
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MPZ-2009-02: S side Kamanda (= Isokwe) Island
 Lake Mweru, S side Kamanda (= Isokwe) Island, near Nchelenge, Zambia.
27 July 2009; DLG, Alex Chilala, Phil Harris, & William Bone!
Went by boat from Nchelenge. Pollywogged wave beaten shore. A few M. mweruella bits and lots of gastropods among the frass.
Sandy substrate with reeds.
[Nothing kept due to lack of processing time.] |
MPZ-2009-03 thru 06: N side Kamanda (= Isokwe) Island
 Lake Mweru, S side Kamanda (= Isokwe) Island, near Nchelenge, Zambia.
[The sequence of sites goes from east to west.]
[03] -09.367, 028.689
[04] -09.370, 028.682
[05] -09.381, 028.657
[06] -09.382, 028.655
27 July 2009; DLG, Alex Chilala, Phil Harris, William Bone, & Ernest the Coxswain!
[03] Went around the other side of the island, protected from the wind. The substrate was more mud, with some gravel. Lots of live gastropods [Bellamya]. Pollywogged the soft sediment and found 1 live M. hargeri, a bunch of small M. mweruensis, one live Prisodontopsis (very small), and lots of dead shells of all three. Also, one live Sphaeriidae.
[04] Alex went ahead to where some nets were being drawn-in to the west of where we were pollywogging. He found both live and dead M. hargeri and Prisodontopsis.
[05] This site was near where Alex sampled. I [DLG] didn't get out of the boat, but Ernest, the boat pilot, found many Mweruella and few Prisodontopsis in the shallow water, muddy bottom.
[06] The locals from 05 brought us just up the beach to sample the muddy bottom... Found lots more Mweruella and Prisodontopsis, live and dead.
 Ernest sampling among the fishermens' nets.
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MPZ-2009-07: Lumangwe Falls
 Kalungwishi River, Lumangwe Falls, NE of Kawambwa, Zambia.
-09.543, 029.388
28 July 2009; DLG, Alex Chilala, Phil Harris, & William Bone!
Just above the falls, there is a little sandy pool, right at the designated campsite. The arrangement of the rocks suggests that it is an artificial bathing spot. While seining for fish, Phil found a single unionid valve (Coelatura luapulaensis?). I was skeptical of its significance, but after we found a few more, it was evident that indeed mussels occur in the Kalungwishi above the falls. I also found at least two gastropod species. |
MPZ-2009-08: Samfya Sun & Sand Resort
 Lake Bangweulu, Samfya Sun & Sand Resort, down the beach from Samfya Beach Hotel, Samfya, Zambia.
-11.340, 029.564
29 July 2009; DLG, Alex Chilala, Phil Harris, William Bone, & local assistants!
We stopped at Samfya on the way north to give the locals at the Samfya Beach Hotel and adjacent Sun Resort a heads-up that we would be returning in a few days. After arriving in Mansa [returning south], we headed back to Samfya for some quick mussel sampling before sundown.
Phil found some live C. choziensis, we got lots of dead ones, and some dead M. hargeri. No live hargeri, which was the point of going back to Samfya in the 1st place. |
Along the shore of Lake Bangweulu near Samfya.
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MPZ-2009-09: Samfya Beach Hotel
Lake Bangweulu, Samfya Beach Hotel, Samfya, Zambia.
-11.344, 029.564
30 July 2009; DLG, Alex Chilala, Phil Harris, & William Bone!
[=MPZ-2008-04]
Stopped at the Beach Hotel on the way south to get a bag of snails. Found a few live Lanistes and lots of dead snails. There was still a lot of wave action, and so things were pretty much a clean slate.
The wave-smoothed beach of Lake Bangweulu.
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MPZ-2009-10: Chilanga Fish Ponds
 Chilanga Fisheries Ponds, Chilanga, Zambia.
-15.573, 028.262
1 August 2009; DLG & fisheries guys!
[= MPZ-2008-09]
The ponds were full this year, but the water was clearer. I put on my waders and doodled around in the same pond that Anthony pollywogged last year. Found nothing.
The fisheries workers worked the adjacent pond and found a couple dozen. |
Sampling a fish hatchery pond in Chilanga, Zambia for freshwater mussels.
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