Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of African Postgraduate Studies - Department of Natural Resources

The Northern lakes (Mariut, Edku, Burullus, Manzallah, and Bardaweel) of Egypt have great economic importance due to their shallow depths, calm water and high fertility. They are considered as a natural habitat for many fish species. Mariut Lake is the smallest and most polluted one of these Lakes, and it is the only lake that does not currently have a natural connection to the Mediterranean Sea. It lies south of Alexandria Governorate. It divided artificially into four main basins. The main sources of water discharging into the lake are El-Umoum Drain, El-Qalaa Drain and El-Nubaria Canal. Maruit Lake is suffered from intensive pollution and becomes rich in nutrients. It has been rated as one of the most productive lakes in the world. The present study aims to assessing the environmental aspects of Maruit Lake (water, sediment, fish and plant) during 2016. Samples were collected from 10 monitoring stations distributed throughout the lake in addition to 3 samples from the main drains. The water samples were kept in suitable bottles according to the type of analysis, transported to the laboratory, and stored at -20{u00B0}C until analysis.The results of lake water and sediments quality indicated that Mariut Lake is still suffering from various types of pollution, especially organic matter, nutrients and some heavy metals. Relatively high concentrations of dissolved zinc, dissolved and dissolved nickel were observed in the muscles of Clarias Lazera while dissolved iron was high in the muscles of Oreochromis niloticus. The highest concentrations of total pesticides and poly-chlorinated biphenyls were also found in the muscles of Clarias Lazera

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