At Lake Natron, around 1 km from the sediment collection sites, tree leaves of Acacia tortilis were also collected. Physical–chemical analyses (temperature, conductivity, pH and dissolved oxygen) were also performed on the water of the two lakes and in the tributaries of Lake Natron, to evaluate the influence of the environmental variables on pollutant occurrence. The littoral sediments of two alkaline-saline lakes, Natron (Tanzania) and Bogoria (Kenya), in the Eastern Rift Valley, supporting large populations of lesser flamingos ( Phoeniconaias minor), were analysed for DDT residues. “You’d literally get, say, a hundred finches washed ashore in a 50-yard stretch.Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is still used in Africa for the indoor control of malaria and it may represent a potential hazard for wildlife. I saw entire flocks of dead birds all washed ashore together, lemming-like,” he says. During dry season, Brandt discovered, when the water recedes, the birds’ desiccated, chemically-preserved carcasses wash up along the coastline.
Brandt theorizes that the highly-reflective, chemical dense waters act like a glass door, fooling birds into thinking they’re flying through empty space (not long ago, a helicopter pilot tragically fell victim to the same illusion, and his crashed aircraft was rapidly corroded by the lake’s waters).
A swallow © Nick Brandt 2013, Courtesy of Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, NYĪs you might expect, few creatures live in the harsh waters, which can reach 140 degrees Fahreinheit-they’re home to just a single fish species ( Alcolapia latilabris), some algae and a colony of flamingos that feeds on the algae and breeds on the shore.įrequently, though, migrating birds crash into the lake’s surface.
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