Environmental conditions and phytoplankton in the Mwenda River,a small intermittent river flowing into Lake Kariba

Small intermittent rivers play an important role in the limnology of African lakes. The Mwenda River occurs on the southern shore of Lake Kariba. Its flow is governed by the incidence of tropical thunderstorms. During the dry period the river is reduced to a series of turbid pools. Physicochemically the river behaves similarly to a sheltered region of the lake. One river station deviates from the normal pattern because of the insulating effect of a Salvinia mat, and because of its permanent connection with the lake. River flooding flushes both nutrients and major ions into the lake. River phytoplankton populations peak prior to the flushing out of the river. Diatom populations are composed of cosmopolitan tropical taxa.