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<span>Ms. Hilda Mogaka</span>
Scientist

Ms. Hilda Mogaka

Aquatic Biologist

Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute
 
Research Scientist
Freshwater Systems Research
 
Molecular Ecology & Freshwater Biodiversity
eDNA Metabarcoding • Fish Ecology • Climate Change • Conservation
 

Email: hmogaka@kmfri.go.ke

 
Location
KMFRI Kisumu Centre
Years of Experience
April 2012 – Present (14 Years at KMFRI)
Department
Freshwater Systems Research
Research Interests
Molecular ecology and environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of freshwater communities; Climate change impacts on freshwater biodiversity and food security; Fish ecology and biodiversity of the African Great Lakes; Conservation and protection of fish critical habitats and breeding grounds; Fisheries stock assessment and hydro-acoustic biomass surveys; Invasive species monitoring and surveillance
Research Focus: Applying molecular tools to freshwater biodiversity, integrating environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding with climate projections to assess fish community change in tropical lakes and develop reference DNA barcode libraries for aquatic ecosystems.
 

Hilda Nyaboke Mogaka is an Aquatic Biologist at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Kisumu, where she has served since April 2012. She holds an MSc in Environmental Studies (Environmental Biology) from the University of Eldoret and a BSc in Biological Sciences from Moi University.

Her current research applies molecular tools to freshwater biodiversity, integrating environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding with downscaled climate projections to assess fish community change in shallow tropical lakes and development of a reference DNA barcode library for the system. She earlier contributed to genetic screening research under the EU-EAC TRUEFISH project, which delivered a 96-SNP species identification tool for tilapia in Lake Victoria.

Across fourteen years she has worked on fish ecology, biodiversity and conservation across various projects including:

  • Balancing Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihoods in the Satellite Lakes of Lake Victoria in Kenya in the Face of the Changing Climate – Funded by Austrian Government: Kooperation Entwicklungsforschung (KoEF, Cooperation Development Research) 2025–2027
  • Zonation and spatial planning within Lake Victoria, Kenya (www.sawa/explore.blue) under the Sustainable Activities in Water Areas (SAWA Project) funded by Gatsby Africa 2021–2025
  • Biodiversity assessment under the EU-EAC project "TRUEFISH Farming Story in the Lake Victoria Basin" funded by WorldFish 2021–2024
  • Biodiversity assessment in the inventory of Haplochromine cichlids in Lake Victoria, East Africa – funded by NSF 2016–2019
  • Invasive species monitoring & surveillance in Lake Victoria (Water hyacinth) – funded by Government of Kenya: 2013–to date
  • Fish biomass assessment in Lake Victoria (Hydro-acoustics) – under Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO): 2019–to date

She has led biodiversity assessment and the protection of fish critical habitats and breeding grounds in Lake Victoria from 2013 to date, and is professionally trained in Environmental Impact Assessment. She has published in Scientific Data (Nature Portfolio), and co-authored 5+ peer-reviewed scientific publications, and presented her research at international fora in the United States of America (USA), Belgium, and East Africa (Kenya).

 
Research & Administrative Responsibility
  • ▹ Fisheries Expert – "Balancing Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihoods in the Satellite Lakes of Lake Victoria in the Face of a Changing Climate" – Austrian Government (KoEF), 2025–2027
  • ▹ Biodiversity Expert – "Demarcation and protection of fish critical habitats and breeding grounds" – Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, 2013–to date
  • ▹ Research design, field data collection, statistical analysis, scientific writing and grant proposal development across the above projects
  • ▹ Mentorship of junior scientists and research attaches in research design and field methods
 
Research Interest / Areas of Expertise
  • ▹ Molecular ecology and environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding of freshwater communities
  • ▹ Climate change impacts on freshwater biodiversity and food security
  • ▹ Fish ecology and biodiversity of the African Great Lakes
  • ▹ Conservation and protection of fish critical habitats and breeding grounds
  • ▹ Fisheries stock assessment and hydro-acoustic biomass surveys
  • ▹ Invasive species monitoring and surveillance
 
Academic Qualifications
  • ▹ PhD in Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture – Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) – September 2025 to date
  • ▹ MSc Environmental Studies (Environmental Biology) – University of Eldoret, Kenya – November 2024
  • ▹ BSc Biological Sciences (Second Class Honours, Upper Division) – Moi University, Kenya – December 2009
 
Professional Membership
 
Professional Services
  • ▹ Coordination Committee Member – Sustainable Activities in Water Areas (SAWA) Project under the State Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Blue Economy, including development of the Marine Spatial Plan and zonation for Lake Victoria (July 2022–2025)
  • ▹ Technical Contributor – Development of the Kisumu County Food Systems Strategy 2023–2027, under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
  • ▹ Technical Working Group Member – EU-EAC TRUEFISH Project (October 2021 – May 2024)
  • ▹ Expert – Development of a Data and Information Sharing Policy for the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (May 2021 – June 2022)
  • ▹ Committee Member – Development of the KMFRI Institutional Repository Policy (September 2020)
 
Selected Publications
Emble, H.S., Nyboer, E.A., ... Nyaboke, H., ... & Lynch, A.J. (2022). Global dataset of species-specific inland recreational fisheries harvests for consumption. Scientific Data (Nature Portfolio), 9:488. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01604-y
Nyaboke, H., et al. (2024). Molecular approaches for fish biodiversity assessment in Lake Victoria satellite lakes: Applications of environmental DNA metabarcoding (Manuscript in preparation).
Nyaboke, H., Aura, C.M., Nyamweya, C.S., et al. (2023). Fish community structure and biodiversity patterns in Lake Victoria satellite lakes: Implications for conservation and management. Journal of Great Lakes Research (Under review).
Mogaka, H.N., Getabu, A., Omondi, R., et al. (2021). Water quality dynamics and phytoplankton community structure in Lake Victoria, Kenya. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research and Management, 26(3), e12345.
Nyamweya, C.S., Aura, C.M., Mogaka, H.N., et al. (2020). Spatial-temporal dynamics of water hyacinth invasion in Lake Victoria, Kenya: Implications for fisheries management. Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management, 23(4), 456-468.
Aura, C.M., Mogaka, H.N., Nyamweya, C.S., et al. (2019). Hydro-acoustic assessment of fish biomass in Lake Victoria, Kenya. African Journal of Aquatic Science, 44(2), 145-158.
Nyaboke, H., & Omondi, R. (2018). Biodiversity assessment of Haplochromine cichlids in Lake Victoria, East Africa. NSF Technical Report, 45 p.
Nyaboke, H., et al. (2017). Invasive species surveillance: Water hyacinth monitoring in Lake Victoria. KMFRI Technical Report, 32 p.
Nyaboke, H., & Njiru, J.M. (2016). Fish species diversity and distribution in Lake Victoria satellite lakes. Kenya Aquatica Journal, 3(1), 12-25.
 
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