Senior Research Scientist Freshwater Systems Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Biochemistry Water Quality • Fisheries Biology • Microbiology • Natural Products Location Naivasha Station Years of Experience 2012-Present (14 years at KMFRI) Research Interests Aquatic ecosystem health and water quality assessment (rivers and lakes); Fisheries biology; Microbiology; Molecular biology; Biochemistry and natural products bioprospecting | Research Focus: Aquatic ecosystem health assessment in rivers and lakes, with particular interests in water quality, fisheries biology, and the bioprospecting and value addition of natural products from fisheries resources. Alice Mutie is a Senior Research Scientist at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), based at the Naivasha Station within the Freshwater Systems department. She holds an MSc in Biochemistry and a BSc in Biochemistry and Chemistry, both from the University of Nairobi, where her graduate research focused on characterizing microalgae species from selected Kenyan lakes for biofuel production. Since joining KMFRI in 2012, Alice has built a research career centred on aquatic ecosystem health assessment in rivers and lakes, with particular interests in water quality, fisheries biology, and the bioprospecting and value addition of natural products from fisheries resources. She has led government-funded projects and collaborated on numerous donor-funded projects examining fish population dynamics, limnology, and the socio-economic dimensions of fisheries management in the Lake Naivasha basin and beyond, including Lakes Oloidien, Nakuru and Elementaita. Alice has authored and co-authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed publications, a book chapter, and numerous technical reports, and has represented KMFRI at national and international conferences, workshops and stakeholder forums, including a scientific exchange programme at Nagasaki University, Japan. As Senior Research Scientist, she mentors early-career researchers, provides scientific advisory services, and contributes to institutional and national policy briefs. Research & Administrative Responsibility
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Selected Publications Mutie, A., Waithaka, E., Morara, G. N., Loki, P., & Obegi, B. (2025). Fishery potential and physico-chemical characteristics of small water bodies in Narok and Nakuru counties, Kenya. Journal of the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.62049/jkncu.v5i2.292 Mutie, A., Waithaka, E., Morara, G., & Loki, P. (2025). Water quality, ecology of Magadi Tilapia (Alcolapia grahami), and socio-economic dynamics in the protected wetland of Lake Elementaita, Kenya. Kenya Aquatica Journal, 10(1), 41-52. Mutie, A., Morara, G. N., Waithaka, E., Obegi B. & Loki, P. (2024). Length-Weight Relationship, Condition Factor and Maturity Characteristics of an Invasive Oreochromis niloticus (Cichlidae) in an Alkaline-Saline Lake Nakuru, Kenya. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research & Management, 29: e12462. https://doi.org/10.1111/lre.12462 Mutie, A., Waithaka, E., Morara, G., Loki, P. & Obegi, B. (2022). Limnological status of Lake Oloidien in Kenya's Rift Valley between 2020 and 2021. Aquatica, 9(1), 37-46. Morara, G.N., Getabu, A.M., Njiru, J.M., Omondi, R., Mutie, A. & Nyamweya, C.S. (2022). Shifts in composition of fish species of fishery in Lake Naivasha, Kenya: Trend implications for fishing effort, yields and revenue. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research & Management, 27, e12397. Mwainge, V.M., Ogwai, C., Mulanda, C.A., Mutie, A., Ombwa, V., Nyaboke, H., Oyier, K.N. & Nyaundi, J. (2021). An overview of fish disease and parasite occurrence in the cage culture of Oreochromis niloticus: A case study in Lake Victoria, Kenya. Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management Society, 24, 43-55. Mutie, A., Waithaka, E., Morara, G., Boera, P., Mwamburi, J., Keyombe, J.L. & Obegi, B. (2020). Population characteristics of Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) in light of varying water quality conditions of adjoined Lakes Naivasha and Oloidien in Kenya. Pan Africa Science Journal, 1(01), 54-71. Obegi, B.N., Sarfo, I., Morara, G.N., Boera, P., Waithaka, E. & Mutie, A. (2020). Bio-economic modeling of fishing activities in Kenya: The case of Lake Naivasha Ramsar site. Journal of Bioeconomics. Waithaka, E., Boera, P., Morara, G., Nzioka, A., Mutie, A. & Keyombe, J.L. (2019). Trends in Fishing on Lake Naivasha and their Implications for Management. African Journal of Tropical Hydrobiology and Fisheries, 17, 9-15. Mutie, A., Ojwang, W., Werimo, K., Omondi, R. & Ouko, J. (2015). Intriguing case of ecosystem dynamics in Lake Victoria: Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and Escherichia coli. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 2(5), 110-113. Book Chapter Mugo, J., Last, J., Yongo, E., Werimo, K., Mutie, A., Waithaka, E., Morara, G., Boera, P., Obegi, B., Aura, C. & Nyamweya, C. (2018). The Lake Naivasha Fisheries. In: Kimani, E.N., Aura, M.C. & Okemwa, G.M. (Eds.), The Status of Kenya Fisheries: Towards the Sustainable Use of Renewable Aquatic Resources for Economic Development. Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI). Links |
