A limnological study of the Afram arm of Volta Lake.
A two year’s limnological study of the Afram arm of the Volta Lake is reported. This arm of the lake is shallow; it receives frequent winds, which together with the floods of June-September create near isothermal conditions. The upper io m is well oxygenated with some oxygen, about 2 mg/l, reaching the bottom for most part of the year. It is poor in nutrients, values of total dissolved solids lying between 40–60 mg/l. But frequent algal blooms of Oscillatoria curviceps, O. princeps and Mycrocystis aeruginosa occur and the net primary production rate in some areas range between 8.4 and 142.5 mg C/m3/hr. It is suggested that the high tropical temperatures encourage quick recycling leading to relatively high organic production, thus making this arm non-oligotrophic.