Rapid Biological Assessment of the Aquatic Ecosystems of the Okavango Delta, Botswana: High Water Survey

A team of researchers, students, and local staff surveyed the vertebrate and invertebrate species in four areas of the Okavango Delta in northwestern Botswana. The survey reports water quality as benign and healthy with the exception of low dissolved oxygen levels. About a fourth of the 1250 plant species known from the Delta were recorded and were found to have moderate diversity and surprisingly uniform populations. The findings of diversity in the fish communities and a breeding colony harboring fourteen endangered bird species provide substantial support for the report's recommendations on conserving this ecologically significant area.