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How do Murchison Falls affect fish distribution near Lake Albert?
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East African lakes
Mountains and lakes of East Africa.
Murchison Falls acts as a significant physical barrier that influences the distribution of fish in the region. Located near the northern end of Lake Albert, the falls mark the frontier of a distinct faunal province formed by Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga.1
Because of this barrier, several fish genera found in Lake Albert are absent from Lakes Victoria and Kyoga, which instead contain many unique species. While Lake Albert’s fish life is closely related to that of the Nile River—including species such as Nile perch, tiger fish, and bichir—the falls effectively separate these populations from those found in the upstream lake systems.1