Notes from the field: dealing with obstacles during workshop preparation

Written in advance of the CPAID Workshop in Mombasa, Papy Muzuri Batumike, Samuel Keith Muhindo Balume and Patrycja Stys, give an intimate insight into the challenges of workshop preparation while in the field

A new appraisal of Sri Lankan BB zircon as a reference material for LA-ICP-MS U-Pb geochronology and Lu-Hf isotope tracing

A potential zircon reference material (BB zircon) for laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry is described. A batch of twenty zircon megacrysts (0.5–1.5 cm3) from Sri Lanka was studied. Within-grain rare earth element (REE) compositions are largely homogeneous, albeit with some variation seen between fractured and homogeneous domains. Excluding fractured cathodoluminescence bright domains, the variation in U content for all analysed crystals ranged from 227 to 368 μg g−1 and the average Th/U ratios were between 0.20 and 0.47. The Hf isotope composition (0.56–0.84 g/100 g Hf) is homogeneous within and between the grains – mean 176Hf/177Hf of 0.281674 ± 0.000018 (2s). The calculated alpha dose of 0.59 × 1018 g−1 for a number of BB grains falls within the trend of previously studied, untreated zircon samples from Sri Lanka. Aliquots of the same crystal (analysed by ID-TIMS in four different laboratories) gave consistent U-Pb ages with excellent measurement reproducibility (0.1–0.4% RSD). Interlaboratory assessment (by LA-ICP-MS) from individual crystals returned results that are within uncertainty equivalent to the TIMS ages. Finally, we report on within- and between-grain homogeneity of the oxygen isotope systematic of four BB crystals (13.16‰ VSMOW)

Spatial distribution and abondance of freshwater snails in Lake Kivu, DR Congo side

               The main goal of this investigation was to study the distribution of freshwater molluscs in Lake Kivu located in DR Congo side. Mollusca play important role in the public and veterinary health and thus need to be study their distribution continuously. The semi-quantitative surveys carried out during the period of January 2019 to December 2019 has focused on sites selected in lake covering the dry and wet seasons. The choice of these sites was based on the molluscan data available, physical structure of the littoral and structure associated vegetation. The harvesting of snails in the littoral zone of Lake Kivu was done using a plankton net and pliers. The physicochemical parameters of the water at each site were carried out using the standard water quality analysis method. The collected snails were morphologically identified using different identification keys. Biomphalaria species were analyzed for trematode infestation. One thousand three hundred and thirty-six (1,356) snails belonging to seven genera and seven species were recorded during the study. The overall relative percentage of the various snail species recorded was: Biomphalaria pfeifferi (50.8 %), Biomphalaria smithi (13.1 %), Gabbielle spirilosa (11.2 %), Bulinus tuncatus (10.2 %), Lymnea natalensis (5.7 %), Helisoma duryi (2.5 %), Pila ovata (1.4), Melanoides tuberculata (1.2%), Lymnea columella (0.7 %), Tomchia hendrexyx (0.6 %), Bulinus forskalii (0.5 %), Tomchia ventricosa and Physa acuta (0.4 %), Tomchia zwellandanensis, Corbicula fluminalis and Hydrobia accrensis  (0.3 %), Lymnae palutris (0.2 %), Tomchia kivuensis and Segmentorbis kempi (0.1 %). The present clarified the distribution and seasonal abundance of freshwater snails in Lake Kivu, DRCongo side. Eighteen species of freshwater snails were collected in the malacological survey in the Lake Kivu, DRC side. The observed snail distribution can provide insight into some aspects of the epidemiology of trematode infection in the study area and the potential risks to humans and animals. The implications of these findings for the control of snail-borne trematodes are also discussed

Zircon effect alone insufficient to generate seawater Nd-Hf isotope relationships

[1] Many studies have suggested that continental weathering inputs have controlled the dissolved oceanic budget of hafnium (Hf). However, whether the offset of seawater Nd‐Hf isotope compositions from the terrestrial array can be fully generated by incongruent weathering of continental rocks (the zircon effect) is still not well constrained. In recent years, an increasing amount of combined U‐Pb ages and Hf‐isotopic compositions of riverine detrital zircons have been published. Here a new model of the Nd‐Hf isotopic compositions of the weathered zircon‐free part of the upper continental crust is presented, which is based on published Hf isotope compositions and formation ages of modern riverine detrital zircons combined with Nd isotopic compositions of rocks from the upper continental crust. Our model results indicate that the Nd‐Hf isotopic composition of the weathered zircon‐free part of the upper continental crust is not consistent with the seawater isotopic compositions. This suggests that the elevated seawater Hf isotope compositions for given Nd isotope compositions cannot be fully explained by incongruent zircon weathering of the continents, which is also supported by a recent study demonstrating incongruent weathering of other minerals than zircon

Spatial distribution and abondance of freshwater snails in Lake Kivu, DR Congo side

               The main goal of this investigation was to study the distribution of freshwater molluscs in Lake Kivu located in DR Congo side. Mollusca play important role in the public and veterinary health and thus need to be study their distribution continuously. The semi-quantitative surveys carried out during the period of January 2019 to December 2019 has focused on sites selected in lake covering the dry and wet seasons. The choice of these sites was based on the molluscan data available, physical structure of the littoral and structure associated vegetation. The harvesting of snails in the littoral zone of Lake Kivu was done using a plankton net and pliers. The physicochemical parameters of the water at each site were carried out using the standard water quality analysis method. The collected snails were morphologically identified using different identification keys. Biomphalaria species were analyzed for trematode infestation. One thousand three hundred and thirty-six (1,356) snails belonging to seven genera and seven species were recorded during the study. The overall relative percentage of the various snail species recorded was: Biomphalaria pfeifferi (50.8 %), Biomphalaria smithi (13.1 %), Gabbielle spirilosa (11.2 %), Bulinus tuncatus (10.2 %), Lymnea natalensis (5.7 %), Helisoma duryi (2.5 %), Pila ovata (1.4), Melanoides tuberculata (1.2%), Lymnea columella (0.7 %), Tomchia hendrexyx (0.6 %), Bulinus forskalii (0.5 %), Tomchia ventricosa and Physa acuta (0.4 %), Tomchia zwellandanensis, Corbicula fluminalis and Hydrobia accrensis  (0.3 %), Lymnae palutris (0.2 %), Tomchia kivuensis and Segmentorbis kempi (0.1 %). The present clarified the distribution and seasonal abundance of freshwater snails in Lake Kivu, DRCongo side. Eighteen species of freshwater snails were collected in the malacological survey in the Lake Kivu, DRC side. The observed snail distribution can provide insight into some aspects of the epidemiology of trematode infection in the study area and the potential risks to humans and animals. The implications of these findings for the control of snail-borne trematodes are also discussed

Spatial distribution, abundance and infestation rate of freshwater intermediate host snails in Lake Kivu, DR Congo side

Molluscs play an important role in public and veterinary health, making the continuous study of their distribution essential. The main goal of this investigation was to examine the distribution of freshwater molluscs in Lake Kivu, located on the DR Congo side. Semi-quantitative surveys conducted from January to December 2019 focused on selected sites within the lake, covering both the dry and wet seasons. Snails in the littoral zone of Lake Kivu were collected using a plankton net and pliers. The physicochemical parameters of the water at each site were measured using standard water quality analysis methods. The collected snails were morphologically identified using various identification keys. Biomphalaria species were analyzed (cercariometry) for trematode infestation. A total of 1,331 snails belonging to seven genera and 18 species were recorded during the study. The relative abundance of the recorded snail species was as follows: Biomphalaria pfeifferi (49.6%), Biomphalaria smithi (16.6%), Gabbiella spirilosa (10.6%), Bulinus truncatus (10.1%), Lymnaea natalensis (6.5%), Helisoma duryi (1.5%), Pila ovata and Tomichia ventricosa (0.8% each), Melanoides tuberculata (1.7%), Lymnaea columella and Tomichia hendrexyx (0.9% each), Bulinus forskalii and Tomichia zwellandanensis (0.9% each), Physa acuta (0.4%), Corbicula fluminalis (1.1%), Lymnaea palustris (0.2%), Tomichia kivuensis and Segmentorbis kempi (0.1% each). This study clarified the distribution and seasonal abundance of freshwater snails in Lake Kivu, DR Congo. Eighteen species of freshwater snails were identified during the malacological survey. The observed snail distribution provides insights into the epidemiology of trematode infections in the study area and highlights potential risks to human and animal health. The implications of these findings for controlling snail-borne trematodes are also discussed

Climate Change Perceptions and Adaptations among Smallholder Farmers in the Mountains of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

The warming rates in many mountain areas are higher than the global average, negatively impacting crop systems. Little is known about the climatic changes which are already being observed in eastern Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo, due to the lack of long-term meteorological data. Local perceptions could help us to understand not only the climatic changes and impacts but also which adaptation strategies are already being used by local smallholder farmers. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to 300 smallholder Bafuliru (n = 150) and Lega (n = 150) farmers living in the Itombwe Mountains. The respondents reported climatic changes and impacts, with the Bafuliru—living on the eastern drier slopes—reporting more changes and impacts. While the Bafuliru were implementing several adaptation strategies (e.g., increased irrigation and use of inputs, more soil conservation, more income diversification), the Lega were implementing very few, due to soft limits (access to inputs, markets, and information) and culture (less interest in farming, less capacity to organize into groups). The results highlight important differences in sociocultural contexts, even for one ‘remote’ mountain, calling for a more collaborative approach to adaptation planning and action.We acknowledge funding from Ecole Régionale d’Aménagement et Gestion Intégrés des Forêts et Territoires Tropicaux (ERAIFT) and Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN)

Neither education nor impact: why are universities and higher education institutes springing up all over eastern DR Congo?

This article is part of the #PublicAuthority blog series, part of the ESRC-funded Centre for Public Authority and International Development. Institutes of higher education and universities are mushrooming across not only Goma, but all of DRC's North Kivu Province. Samuel Keith Muhindo Balume and Papy Muzuri Batumike ask why graduates of these new institutions are not achieving the success of their peers of the 1960s-1980s