Abstract
Data collected over a ten year period have been used to review some characteristics of freshwater and coastal ecosystems in Ghana. Studies were conducted on two recently formed man-made lakes, one river, five coastal lagoons and waters along the ocean front.
Freshwaters had near neutral pH while coastal waters were alkaline. In both ecosystems the pH of sediments were lower than those of corresponding waters. While the transparency of coastal waters varied within narrow limits, large variations were observed in freshwaters. The lowest concentration of nutrients occurred in the river and the highest in coastal waters.
In general, differences in these physical and chemical characteristics do not depend on whether the aquatic systems were fresh, brackish or saline. They seem to be more influenced by such factors as whether a water body: (1) was lotic or lentic, (2) was influenced by industrial or domestic activities, (3) was affected by impoundment, (4) received turbid water inflows, or (5) was eutrophic.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Amuzu, A. T., 1975. A survey of the water quality of the River Densu. Wat. Resour. Res. Inst., Ghana, Tech. Rep. 57 pp.
Biney, C. A., 1982. Preliminary survey of the state of pollution of the coastal environment of Ghana. Oceanol. Acta, Proc. Int. Symp. Coastal Lagoons, Bordeaux, 39–43.
Biney, C. A., 1983. Chemical survey of the Volta estuary. Trop. Ecol. 24: 58–61.
Biney, C. A., 1985. Preliminary physico-chemical studies of estuaries along the Gulf of Guinea in Ghana. Trop. Ecol. 26: 22–31.
Biney, C. A., 1987. Changes in the chemistry of a tropical man-made lake, the Densu Reservoir, during five years of impoundment. Trop. Ecol. 28. In press.
Boughey, A. S., 1957. Ecological studies of tropical coastlines, I. The Gold Coast, West Africa. J. Ecol. 45: 665–687.
Burton, J. D., 1976. Basic properties and processes in estuarine chemistry. In J. D. Burton & P. S. Liss (eds.). Estuarine Chemistry. Academic Press, Lond.: 1–36.
Dassah, A. L. & E. K. Abban, 1979. The potential for fishery in the Densu Weija Reservoir. Proc. Inst. Aquat. Biol. Ghana, Tech. Rep. No. 89, 73 pp.
FAOUN, 1975, Manual of methods in aquatic environment research. I. Methods for detection, measuring and monitoring of water pollution. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. No. 137, 238 pp.
Fogg, G. E., 1962. Nitrogen fixation. In R. A. Lewin (ed.), Physiology and Biochemistry of Algae. Academic Press, Lond.: 161–170.
Hellawell, J. M., 1978. Biological surveillance of rivers. Natn. Envir. Res. Coun., Stevenage, 332 pp.
Hynes, H. B. N., 1970. The ecology of running waters. Liverpool Univ. Press, Liverpool, 555 pp.
Kwei, E. A., 1977. Biological, chemical and hydrological characters of coastal lagoons of Ghana, West Africa. Hydrobiologia 56: 157–174.
Mackereth, F. J. H., J. Heron & J. F. Talling, 1978. Water analysis. Freshwat. Biol. Ass. Publ. No. 36, 120 pp.
Mensah, G. G., 1976. Water quality and pollution survey of inland and coastal waters of Ghana. Wat. Resour. Res. Inst., Ghana, Tech. Rep. 27 pp.
Mensah, M. A., 1979. The hydrology and fisheries of the lagoons and estuaries of Ghana. Fish. Res. Unit, Ghana. Res. Rep. No. 7, 14 pp.
Palmer, M. C., 1962. Algae in water supplies. U.S. Public Health Serv. Publ. 657, Washington, D.C.: 88 pp.
Patrick, R., 1950. A proposed biological measure of stream conditions. Proc. 5th Indust. Waste Conf., Purdue Univ. Eng. Bull. 34: 379–399.
Riley, J. P. & R. Chester, 1971. Introduction to marine chemistry. Academic Press, Lond., 465 pp.
Stirn, J., 1981. Manual of methods in aquatic environment research, 8. Ecological assessment of pollution effects. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap. No. 209, Rome: 70 pp.
Symoens, J. J., M. Burgis & J. J. Gaudet, 1981. The ecology and utilisation of African inland waters. UNEP, Nairobi, 191 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Biney, C.A. A review of some characteristics of freshwater and coastal ecosystems in Ghana. Hydrobiologia 208, 45–53 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008442
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008442