dry-season-fish-populations-in-shire-valley-game-reserve-1976

The diversity of fish fauna in water system is determined by the variety of habitats available within that system. As a result permanent lakes and ponds; rivers and streams all have different fauna. The requirement of the animals in the three Lower Shire Game Reserves are met by three very different water systems. The Wankulumadziriver, a permanent stream, flows through the northern part of Majete Game Reserve and the Shire River forms its eastern boundary. There are two artificial waterholes in Lengwe, supplied by boreholes where as Mwabvi has several rivers which flow for short periods during the rains, leaving isolated waterholesin the river bedsin the dry season. As a result of these differences, considerable variations in the species composition of the fish populations in the reserves would be expected. In 1975 the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Kindly gave the Fisheries Department permission to sample in the reserves and this resource is a brief account of the findings.