Nyboer, Elizabeth A.2019-04-042019-04-042018-09http://hdl.handle.net/10625/57531This thesis takes a cross-disciplinary approach employing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to integrate social and ecological data for a holistic understanding of the vulnerability of Africa’s freshwater fisheries to climate change. This thesis is comprised of three major sections: the first (Chapter 1) uses a meta-analytical approach to predict vulnerability of Africa’s exploited freshwater fishes based on species traits and predicted climate change exposure. The second section (Chapters 2 and 3) employs an experimental approach to test the ability of the Nile perch, a commercially harvested fish species in the Lake Victoria basin of East Africa, to physiologically adjust thermal tolerance limits to increased water temperatures. The final section, (Chapter 4), investigates how fishing-dependent communities adjust to climate-mediated changes in the ecosystem with the aim to determine vulnerability and resilience of stakeholder communities to projected changes in the fishery.application/pdfenANTHROPOGENIC STRESSORSECOLOGICAL CHANGE IN NATURAL POPULATIONSTROPICAL INLAND FISHERIESFOOD FISHESOBSERVATIONAL APPROACHESMETA-ANALYTICAL APPROACHESRESPONSE OF FRESHWATER FISHES TO CLIMATE CHANGE STRESSORSNILE PERCHLAKE VICTORIA BASINEAST AFRICAGLOBAL WARMINGWATER QUALITYFOOD SECURITYThesis