| FishBase | Complete | Literature | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Families | Species | Families | |||
| Marine | No | |||||
| Freshwater | 440 | 27 | No | Daget, J., J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde, 1984 | ||
| Total | 428 | 29 | No | |||
| Conservation | The following information is to be sought: - Status of knowledge of the freshwater fauna; - Existence of conservation plans; - Information on major aquatic habitats or sites within the country; - Current major threats to species; - Future potential threats to species; - Contact(s) for further information. |
| Geography and Climate |
Zambia is situated on a plateau which varies between 1,000 and 1,500 m in altitude. Land of slightly higher evelation traverses the country from the centre to the northeast and forms the watershed between the Zambezi and Zaire Basins.
The climate is subtropical with pronounced seasons: winter (May to August) and summer (September to March). The main rainfall is concentrated into a single season from October to April. Ref. Vanden Bossche, J.-P. and G.M. Bernacsek, 1990 |
| Hydrography |
Lakes: Zambia has abundant lacustrine resources which include Zaire, lie within Zambia. In the Zambezi Basin, the Zambezi River itself flows for 600 km through the country and forms the frontier successively with Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique for a further 825 km. and the Luangwa (780 km).
In the Zaire Basin the Chambezi River (465 km) flows into the Bangweulu swamp/lake complex and the Luapula (555 km) flows out of it into Lake Mweru. The Luapula River forms the frontier with Zaire for much of its length.
Major floodplain/swamp systems associated with the rivers are: Barotse Floodplain (Zambezi River); Lukanga Swamp (Kafue River); Kafue Flats/Gorge Reservoir Complex (Kafue River); Luapula Floodplain (Kifukula Depression) (Luapula River). Two smaller swamps (Kapabi, containing Lake Wasa, and Chibwa) occur on headwater tributaries of the Luapula River. The Busanga Swamp is locateed on the Lufupa, a tributary of the Kafue.
Reservoirs: forty-five percent of Lake Kariba lies within Zambia and two smaller reservoirs (Mulungushi and Mita Hills) are situated near Lusaka. There are large dams across the Kafue River at either end of the Kafue Flats floodplain; Itezhitezhi Dam forms a reservoir of 360 km2, while Kafue Gorge Dam controls, to some extent, the water level on the Kafue Flats. L'Heureux (1985) (Ref. 12099) reported that there are some 479 major dams.
Coastal lagoons: none; Zambia is landlocked. Ref. Vanden Bossche, J.-P. and G.M. Bernacsek, 1990 |