Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute, Kigoma Centre, P.O. Box 90, Kigoma, Tanzania.
Department of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Technology, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Environ Monit Assess. 2022 Aug 19;194(10):689. doi: 10.1007/s10661-022-10354-8.
Several studies in Lake Tanganyika have effectively employed traditional methods to explore changes in water quality in open waters; however, coastal monitoring has been restricted and sporadic, relying on costly sample and analytical methods that require skilled technical staff. This study aims in validating citizen science water quality collected data (nitrate, phosphate and turbidity) with those collected and measured by professional scientists in the laboratory. A second objective of the study is to use citizen scientist data to identify the patterns of seasonal and spatial variations in nutrient conditions and forecast potential changes based on expected changes in population and climate (to 2050). The results showed that the concentrations of nitrate and phosphate measured by citizen scientists nearly matched those established by professional scientists, with overall accuracy of 91% and 74%, respectively. For total suspended solids measured by professional and turbidity measured by citizen scientists, results show that, using 14 NTU as a cut-off, citizen scientist measurements of Secchi tube depth to identify lake TSS below 7.0 mg/L showed an accuracy of 88%. In both laboratory and citizen scientist-based studies, all measured water quality variables were significantly higher during the wet season compared to the dry season. Climate factors were discovered to have a major impact on the likelihood of exceeding water quality restrictions in the next decades (2050), which could deteriorate lake conditions. Upscaling citizen science to more communities on the lake and other African Great Lakes would raise environmental awareness, inform management and mitigation activities, and aid long-term decision-making.
坦噶尼喀湖的多项研究已成功采用传统方法对开阔水域的水质变化进行了研究；但是，沿海监测一直受到限制，且比较零散，所采用的成本高昂的样本和分析方法需要熟练的技术人员。本研究旨在验证公民科学水质收集数据（硝酸盐、磷酸盐和浊度）与专业科学家在实验室中收集和测量的数据的一致性。本研究的第二个目的是利用公民科学家的数据来识别营养条件的季节性和空间变化模式，并根据人口和气候（到 2050 年）的预期变化预测潜在变化。结果表明，公民科学家测量的硝酸盐和磷酸盐浓度与专业科学家建立的浓度非常接近，总体准确度分别为 91%和 74%。对于专业人员测量的总悬浮固体和公民科学家测量的浊度，结果表明，使用 14 NTU 作为截止值，公民科学家使用塞奇管深度测量值来识别 TSS 低于 7.0mg/L 的湖泊时，准确度为 88%。在实验室和公民科学家研究中，所有测量的水质变量在雨季均显著高于旱季。气候因素被发现对未来几十年（2050 年）水质限制超标可能性有重大影响，这可能会使湖泊条件恶化。将公民科学扩展到更多的湖区社区和其他非洲大湖，将提高环境意识，为管理和缓解活动提供信息，并有助于做出长期决策。
