Aswan Reservoir | INNSPUB Journal Publisher

Howayda H. Adb El-Hady

National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Inland Water and Aquaculture Branch, 101 Kasr El Aini St., Cairo, Egypt

Key words: Aswan Reservoir, River Nile, phytoplankton, biochemical contents, pollution.

Abstract

River Nile is an important resource for sustaining life. This study was carried out at Aswan Reservoir and the main stream of River Nile and focused on the seasonal and spatial variation of biochemical composition of phytoplankton and the effect of changes in physico-chemical parameters and different pollutants on it. Water samples were collected from fifteen sampling sites, where four sites from Aswan Reservoir and eleven from the main stream of River Nile and some of its drains from spring 2008 to winter 2009. The results of the environmental parameters showed wide variations in their concentrations along the different sites of the reservoir and River Nile. ancient-egypt-river-nile-the-nile-luxor Data of phytoplankton biochemical contents in Aswan Reservoir gave the maximum contents of lipid in summer (16.6 mg/l), while the optimum season for proteins was winter (5.6 g/l), the clearest sites of the reservoir (R3 and R4) gave the maximum average values of carbohydrates and proteins. The study showed that the maximum yield of chlorophyll a and carbohydrate contents was obtained in spring for both Aswan Reservoir and River Nile, while the major peak for both lipids and proteins of River Nile obtained in winter (10.34 mg/l and 6.06 g/l, respectively). The total biochemical contents (lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) are inhibited at drains of Kima, Com Ombo, Qus, Etsa and El-Hawamdia then elevated again by getting far away from the pollution source. It is concluded that the environmental parameters and different pollutants are the main factors controlling the biochemical contents of phytoplankton.