COMMUNITY ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF THE FISHES OF THE OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA

The Okavango Delta is a large inland swamp in northern Botswana which receives an annual flood from the highlands of southern Angola. There are distinct fish taxocenes in the Okavango which can be separated fro m each other by the physical characteristics of the different habitat types with which they co-evolved. An account is given of the ecology a nd conservation of the fishes of the Okavango Delta. Their response to the annual flood regime, and the environmental factors that limit the ir distribution and abundance, are described. In the northern riverine floodplain and perennial swamp a higher species richness and ichthyom ass was recorded than in the seasonal swamp and drainage rivers. Sugge stions are made on the conservation of Okavango fishes taking into acc ount the ecological characteristics of the Delta.