Phd Thesis Fish Assemblages Dynamic in the Tropical Flood-Pulse
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PhD thesis Fish assemblages dynamic in the tropical flood-pulse system of the Lower Mekong River Basin Peng Bun NGOR Jury composition Anna Vila-Gispert Adjunct Professor Referee Stefan Schmutz Professor Referee Thierry OBERDORFF Research director Jury member Sébastien BROSSE Professor Jury member Gaël GRENOUILLET Senior lecturer Jury member Nam SO Researcher Jury member Christine AGRILLIER Research Director Jury member Marta MUÑOZ Professor Jury member Sovan LEK Professor PhD supervisor Defended on 10 April 2018 University of Toulouse This research was performed at: Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique, UMR 5174, Université Paul Sabatier – Toulouse III, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cédex 4 – France. Cite this document as: Ngor P. B., 2018. Fish assemblages dynamic in the tropical flood-pulse system of the Lower Mekong River Basin. Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. The author and the supervisor give the authorization to consult and to copy parts of this work for personal use only. Every other use is subject to the copyright laws. Permission to reproduce any material contained in this work should be obtained from the author. Acknowledgements First and foremost, my sincerest gratitude goes to Professor Sovan Lek, my supervisor, for his kindest support, valuable guidance and encouragement from the beginning to the completion of my PhD Program. This thesis would be impossible without his continuous assistance and constructive advice. I would like to profoundly thank Associate Professor Sithan Lek-Ang, my supervisor’s wife, for her warm welcome and kindness to offer the homestay during my first arrival, and indeed both of whom offer both academic and personal supports during my entire stay in Toulouse. I am wholeheartedly thankful for their heartfelt support and care-taking. I am also very grateful to His Excellency Eng Cheasan, Director General of the Fisheries Administration for his support to undertake my PhD Program. Sincere thanks are also given to Mr. Chheng Phen, acting director of the Inland Fisheries and Development Institute, Dr. So Nam, Chief of Environment Division of the Mekong River Commission for his cooperation and support in supplying the data for this study. I am grateful to Dr. Thierry Oberdorff, Research Director at the French Research Institute for Development; Professor Gaël Grenouillet, Professor Sébastien Brosse and Dr. Loïc Tudesque at the Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, Université de Toulouse; Professor Pierre Legendre, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal; Professor Kevin McCann, University of Guelph and Professor Bailey McMeans, University of Toronto Mississauga for their technical advice, comments and supports during data analyses and manuscript preparations. Last, but not least, my sincerest thanks go to Mr. Peter Degen who is always available for helping edit my writing and Mr. Kunthea Nuon for his technical support in GIS mapping. I am indented to my PhD colleagues, Seng Ratha, Sor Ratha, Chea Ratha, Chan Bunyeth and Heng Kong for their academic, social and personal sharing, support and assistance especially during my stay in Toulouse. My sincere thanks are also given to Ms. Catherine Stasiulis, Ms. Romy Duchesne, Ms. Aurore Berthier and Ms. Dominique Pantalacci for their administrative support. My deepest thanks go to my beloved parents and wife as well as my brothers and sisters for their unconditional company, endless love and support. Finally, my special thanks are given to the Erasmus Plus Program, Belmont Forum (TLSCC project), CONCEA Program and Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique (EDB), Université de Toulouse for funding this study and support, Mekong River Commission (Fisheries Programme), the Inland Fisheries Research and Development Institute of the Fisheries Administration in Cambodia for giving the required datasets for the study. iii PART I: SYNTHESIS Table of Contents I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 A brief about the Mekong system ................................................................................................. 1 1.1.1 The Mekong River ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1.2 The 3S Rivers ......................................................................................................................... 2 1.1.3 The Tonle Sap system ............................................................................................................ 3 1.2 The Mekong fisheries ................................................................................................................... 4 1.2.1 Fish community structure ....................................................................................................... 4 1.2.2 Fish migration system ............................................................................................................ 6 1.2.3 Socio-economic importance of fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin .................................. 7 1.3 Challenges of inland capture fisheries in the Lower Mekong Basin ............................................. 9 1.3.1 Water infrastructure development in the Mekong ................................................................. 9 1.3.2 Habitat loss ........................................................................................................................... 13 1.3.3 Open-access fisheries ........................................................................................................... 14 II. Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 14 III. Materials and methods .................................................................................................................... 15 3.1 Study area .................................................................................................................................... 15 3.2 Data collection ............................................................................................................................ 16 3.3 Statistical analysis ....................................................................................................................... 18 3.3.1 Seasonal partitioning ............................................................................................................ 18 3.3.2 Data preparation ................................................................................................................... 18 3.3.3 Flow seasonality and predictability ...................................................................................... 19 3.3.4 Spatial and temporal description of fish community ........................................................... 19 3.3.5 Species diversity .................................................................................................................. 20 3.3.6 Linear regression models ..................................................................................................... 20 IV. Results ............................................................................................................................................ 21 4.1 Summary of recorded catches in the Lower Mekong Basin ....................................................... 21 4.2 Overall fish assemblage structure and diversity .......................................................................... 23 4.2.1 The Lower Mekong River .................................................................................................... 23 4.2.2 The complex Mekong-3S system ......................................................................................... 24 iv 4.2.3 The Tonle Sap system .......................................................................................................... 25 4.3 Spatial variation in fish abundance distribution .......................................................................... 27 4.3.1 The Lower Mekong River .................................................................................................... 27 4.3.2 The Mekong-3S system ....................................................................................................... 28 4.3.3 The Tonle Sap system .......................................................................................................... 28 4.4 Temporal dynamics of fish community ...................................................................................... 31 4.4.1 Temporal variation of fish community in the Tonle Sap River and Lake ............................ 31 4.4.2 Temporal dynamics of fish communities in the Lower Mekong system ............................. 40 V. Discussion ........................................................................................................................................ 50 5.1 Fish species richness and diversity ............................................................................................. 50 5.2 Spatial variation in fish community structure ............................................................................. 52 5.3 Temporal variation in fish community structure ........................................................................