29th Annual Student Research Conference
Lake Nicaragua shoreline fish diversity prior to Nicaraguan canal construction
Anna Conrades
Dr. LaRoy Brandt, Faculty Mentor
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Central America. To encourage economic growth and trade, in 2013 the Nicaraguan government joined with the HKND to build an interoceanic canal. The canal's proposed path passes through Lake Nicaragua right by Ometepe Island. While the canal project could mean construction and maintenance jobs for Nicaraguans, the project may threaten the lake and the fishes living in it. Local Nicaraguans depend on the lake as a primary source of food, drinking water, sanitation, and more. Our study attempts to characterize the diversity of shoreline fishes in Lake Nicaragua along the Ometepe coast prior to canal construction. Using SpecRich2, we estimated species richness to 15 with standard error of 1.96 from our observed species richness catch data (13). Our data shows pre-canal species richness - to measure how the canal impacts fish species richness, further studies must be conducted during/after canal construction.
Keywords: Nicaragua, canal, fish species richness, freshwater fish, lake
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: -2
Location: MG 2001
Time: 8:15