Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 2017, 5, 160-173 http://www.scirp.org/journal/gep ISSN Online: 2327-4344 ISSN Print: 2327-4336 DOI: 10.4236/gep.2017.511012 Nov. 22, 2017 160 Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection Proliferation of Salvinia molesta at Lake Kyoga Landing Sites as a Result of Anthropogenic Influences Morgan Andama * , Robert Ongom, Ben Lukubye Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda Abstract Salvinia molesta (native of south-eastern Brazil) is a free floating aquatic fern that has spread to several countries around the globe including Uganda. Un- der optimum growing conditions, the plant is capable of spreading rapidly where it can have immense environmental, economic and human health im- pacts. Thick mats of the weed have been recorded in some parts of Lake Kyoga, Uganda where it hinders the abstraction of water, docking and boat take-off, bathing and swimming activities. Therefore this study aimed to de- termine the extent of S. molesta at selected landing sites in Lake Kyoga and the influence of anthropogenic activities on the weed coverage as well as the effect of physico-chemical parameters of the water on the development of the weed. Quadrats were used to ascertain the coverage of S. molesta while the physico-chemical parameters were determined by standard methods. The re- sults showed significant positive correlation of S. molesta weed coverage with phosphates (PO 4 -P) and negative correlations with pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) and water flow rate. Though statistically insignificant waste sites re- corded the highest overall S. molesta coverage (82.61 ± 21.12 m 2 ) per 400 m 2 quadrat followed by boat docks (82.24 ± 19.45 m 2 ), gardens (50.93 ± 11.82 m 2 ) and finally fishing areas (27.94 ± 5.93 m 2 ) respectively. The overall weed cov- erage was highest around the shoreline locations of Acholi inn landing site (101.72 ± 22.89 m 2 per 400 m 2 ) followed by Masindi port (60.39 ± 15.64 m 2 ), Waitumba (41.89 ± 10.55 m 2 ) and the least in the offshore location at Kayei landing site (39.71 ± 10.17 m 2 ). Salvinia molesta distribution in Lake Kyoga is linked to nutrient (PO 4 -P) supply, proximity to the shoreline and the associ- ated anthropogenic activities. Hence waste sites, gardens and boat docks en- hance S. molesta invasion in Lake Kyoga. Therefore, sources of nutrients (phosphates) into Lake Kyoga that favour the proliferation of S. molesta should be minimized through adequate waste treatment and prohibition of How to cite this paper: Andama, M., Ongom, R. and Lukubye, B. (2017) Prolife- ration of Salvinia molesta at Lake Kyoga Landing Sites as a Result of Anthropogenic Influences. Journal of Geoscience and En- vironment Protection, 5, 160-173. https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2017.511012 Received: September 26, 2017 Accepted: November 19, 2017 Published: November 22, 2017 Copyright © 2017 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access