Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T21:51:05.472Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Modelling future changes of habitat and fauna in the Tonle Sap wetland of the Mekong

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2013

MAURICIO E. ARIAS ,
THOMAS A. COCHRANE  and
VITTORIA ELLIOTT
MAURICIO E. ARIAS
Affiliation:
University of Canterbury, Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, Christchurch, New Zealand
THOMAS A. COCHRANE*
Affiliation:
University of Canterbury, Department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, Christchurch, New Zealand
VITTORIA ELLIOTT
Affiliation:
SciCap, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
*
*Correspondence: Thomas Cochrane Tel: +64 3 364 2378 ext. 6378 Fax: +64 3 364 2758 e-mail: tom.cochrane@canterbury.ac.nz
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The Tonle Sap is the largest wetland in South-east Asia and the heart of the largest inland fishery in the world. Its unique flood pulse system and annual flow reversal is a hotspot for biodiversity and productivity, as well as an essential habitat for many endangered fishes and birds. Despite predicted changes to the wetland's hydrology due to climate change and hydropower development in the Mekong, the consequent impacts on the fauna of the lake are poorly understood. A spatial modelling framework was developed to simulate the impact of potential scenarios of change using relationships between fauna and biophysical characteristics. Potential impacts on 61 animal species with documented nutritional, conservation or ecological value were examined. A large number of species rely on gallery forest to provide important habitats for their life history, yet this area is likely to be highly impacted by permanent inundation. There is a strong synchronicity between life histories and the flood pulse; consequently continued hydrological disruptions will have a significant impact on ecosystem dynamics, imposing further challenges to conservation. Protecting areas that may become suitable for gallery forests and shrublands under a modified flood regime will be crucial to management planning and the maintenance of a diverse and healthy ecosystem.

Keywords

Cambodiaconservation planningenvironmental impact assessmentfloodplainflood pulsefresh waterspatial modelwetlands
Type
THEMATIC SECTION: Spatial Simulation Models in Planning for Resilience
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 165 - 175
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahmed, M., Hap, N., Ly, V. & Tiongco, M. (1998) Socio-economic assessment of freshwater capture fisheries in Cambodia. Report on a household survey. Danish International Development Assistance and Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.Google Scholar
Arias, M.E., Cochrane, T.A., Kummu, M., Killeen, T.J., Piman, T. & Caruso, B.S. (2012) Quantifying changes in flooding and habitats in the Tonle Sap Lake (Cambodia) caused by water infrastructure development and climate change in the Mekong Basin. Journal of Environmental Management 112: 53–66.Google Scholar
Bonheur, N. & Lane, B.D. (2002) Natural resources management for human security in Cambodia's Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve. Environmental Science and Policy 5: 33–41.Google Scholar
Brooks, S.E., Allison, E.H., Gill, J.A. & Reynolds, J.D. (2009) Reproductive and trophic ecology of an assemblage of aquatic and semi-aquatic snakes in Tonle Sap, Cambodia. Copeia 1: 7–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, I., Poole, C., Giesen, W. & Valbo-Jorgensen, J. (2006) Species diversity and ecology of Tonle Sap Great Lake, Cambodia. Aquatic Sciences. Research Across Boundaries 68: 355–373.Google Scholar
Davidson, P.J. (2006) The biodiversity of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve: 2005 status review. Wildlife Conservation Society, unpublished report to UNDP/GEF Tonle Sap Conservation Project, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.Google Scholar
DeAngelis, D.L., Gross, L.J., Huston, M.A., Wolff, W.F., Fleming, D.M., Comiskey, E.J. & Sylvester, S.M. (1998) Landscape modeling for Everglades ecosystem restoration. Ecosystems 1: 64–75.Google Scholar
Eng, C. & Ouch, V. (2006) TSBR Land cover map derived from the orthophoto map. Unpublished data from the Spatial Analysis and Information Laboratory, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Cambodia.Google Scholar
Gaff, H., DeAngelis, D.L., Gross, L.J., Salinas, R. & Shorrosh, M. (2000) A dynamic landscape model for fish in the Everglades and its application to restoration. Ecological Modelling 127: 33–52.Google Scholar
Gray, T.N.E., Borey, R., Hout, S.K., Chamnan, H., Collar, N. & Dolman, P.M. (2009) Generality of models that predict the distribution of species: conservation activity and reduction of model transferability for a threatened bustard. Conservation Biology 23: 433–439.Google Scholar
Hellsten, S., Jarvenpaa, E. & Dubrorin, T. (2003) Preliminary observations of floodplain habitats and their relations to hydrology and human impact. Modelling of the flow regime and water quality of the Tonle Sap. Unpublished report to the MRC WUP-FIN Programme, Vientiane, Lao PDR.Google Scholar
Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Hughes, L., McIntyre, S., Lindenmayer, D.B., Parmesan, C., Possingham, H.P. & Thomas, C.D. (2008) Assisted colonization and rapid climate change. Science 321: 345–346.Google Scholar
Hortle, K.G. (2007) Consumption and the yield of fish and other aquatic animals from the Lower Mekong Basin. Report, Mekong River Commission, Vientiane, Lao PDR.Google Scholar
Inomata, H. & Fukami, K. (2008) Restoration of historical hydrological data of Tonle Sap Lake and its surrounding areas. Hydrological Processes 22: 1337–1350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JICA (1999) Cambodia reconnaissance survey digital data. Unpublished data from the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, and Japan International Cooperation Agency, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.Google Scholar
Junk, W.J., Brown, M.T., Campbell, I.C., Finlayson, C.M., Gopal, B., Ramberg, L. & Warner, B.G. (2006) The comparative biodiversity of seven globally important wetlands: a synthesis. Aquatic Sciences: Research Across Boundaries 68: 400–414.Google Scholar
Kareiva, P.M. (2012) Dam choices: analyses for multiple needs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109: 5553–5554.Google Scholar
Keskinen, M. (2006) The lake with floating villages: socio-economic analysis of the Tonle Sap lake. International Journal of Water Resources Development 22: 463–480.Google Scholar
Keskinen, M. & Varis, O. (2012) Institutional cooperation at a basin level: for what, by whom? Lessons learned from Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake. Natural Resources Forum 36: 50–60.Google Scholar
Keskinen, M., Kummu, M., Salmivaara, A., Paradis, S., Lauri, H., de Moel, H., Ward, P. & Sokhem, P. (2011) Exploring Tonle Sap futures. baseline results from hydrological and livelihood analyses. Report. Aalto University and 100Gen Ltd. with Hatfield Consultants Partnership, VU University Amsterdam, EIA Ltd. and Institute of Technology of Cambodia [www document]. URL http://www.wdrg.fi/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Exploring-Tonle-Sap-Futures-Baseline-Report.pdf Google Scholar
Kummu, M. & Sarkkula, J. (2008) Impact of the Mekong River flow alteration on the Tonle Sap flood pulse. Ambio 37: 185–192.Google Scholar
Kummu, M., Sarkkula, J., Koponen, J. & Nikula, J. (2006) Ecosystem management of the Tonle Sap lake: an integrated modelling approach. International Journal of Water Resources Development 22: 497–519.Google Scholar
Kummu, M., Tes, S., Yin, S., Adamson, P., Józsa, J., Koponen, J., Richey, J. & Sarkkula, J. (2013) Water balance analysis for the Tonle Sap lake: floodplain system. Hydrological Processes (in press).Google Scholar
Lamberts, D. (2001) Tonle Sap fisheries: a case study on floodplain gillnet fisheries in Siem Reap, Cambodia. RAP No. 2001/11, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Bangkok, Thailand.Google Scholar
Lamberts, D. (2006) The Tonle Sap lake as a productive ecosystem. International Journal of Water Resources Development 22: 481–495.Google Scholar
Lauri, H., de Moel, H., Ward, P.J., Räsänen, T.A., Keskinen, M. & Kummu, M. (2012) Future changes in Mekong River hydrology: impact of climate change and reservoir operation on discharge. Hydrological Earth System Science 16: 4603–4619.Google Scholar
Lim, P., Lek, S., Touch, S.T., Mao, S. & Chhouk, (1999) Diversity and spatial distribution of freshwater fish in Great Lake and Tonle Sap River. Aquatic Living Resources 12: 379–386.Google Scholar
McLachlan, J.S., Hellmann, J.J. & Schwartz, M.W. (2007) A framework for debate of assisted migration in an era of climate change. Conservation Biology 21: 297–302.Google Scholar
Mitsch, W.J. & Gosselink, J.P. (2007) Wetlands. Fourth edition. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Google Scholar
MRC (2005) Overview of the hydrology of the Mekong Basin. Report. Mekong River Commission, Vientiane, Lao PDR.Google Scholar
MRC (2009) Mekong River Commission Spatial Database. Mekong River Commission, Vientiane, Lao PDR [www document]. URL http://www.mrcmekong.org/spatial/data_catalog.htm Google Scholar
Ohtaka, A., Watanabe, R., Im, S., Chhay, R. & Tsukawaki, S. (2010) Spatial and seasonal changes of net plankton and zoobenthos in Lake Tonle Sap, Cambodia. Limnology 11: 85–94.Google Scholar
Parolin, P. & Wittmann, F. (2010) Struggle in the flood: tree responses to flooding stress in four tropical floodplain systems [www document]. URL http://aobpla.oxfordjournals.org/content/2010/plq003.abstract CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penny, D. (2006) The Holocene history and development of the Tonle Sap, Cambodia. Quaternary Science Reviews 25: 310–322.Google Scholar
Piman, T., Lennaerts, T. & Southalack, P. (2013) Assessment of hydrological changes in the lower Mekong basin from basin-wide development scenarios. Hydrological Processes (in Press). doi10.1002/hyp.9764 Google Scholar
Rodríguez, J.P. (2003) Challenges and opportunities for surveying and monitoring tropical biodiversity: a response to Danielsen et al. Oryx 37: 411–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanaka, S. & Ohtaka, A. (2009) Freshwater Cladocera (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) in Lake Tonle Sap and its adjacent waters in Cambodia [www document]. Limnology [www document]. URL http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/s10201-009-0291-7 Google Scholar
Tews, J., Brose, U., Grimm, V., Tielbörger, K., Wichmann, M.C., Schwager, M. & Jeltsch, F. (2004) Animal species diversity driven by habitat heterogeneity/diversity: the importance of keystone structures. Journal of Biogeography 31: 79–92.Google Scholar
Tingay, R.E., Nicoll, M.A.C., Whitfield, D.P., Visal, S. & McLeod, D.R.A. (2010) Nesting ecology of the grey-headed fish-eagle at Prek Toal, Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. Journal of Raptor Research 44: 165–174.Google Scholar
UNESCO (2010) Biosphere Reserves. World Network. UNESCO-MAB (Man and the Biosphere) Secretariat, Paris, France [www document]. URL http://www.unesco.org/mab/ Google Scholar
Valbo-Jørgensen, J., Coates, D. & Hortle, K. (2009) Fish diversity in the Mekong River Basin. In: The Mekong, Biophysical Environment of an International River Basin, ed. Campbell, I.C., pp. 161–196. San Diego, CA, USA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Arias Supplementary Material

Table

Download Arias Supplementary Material(File)
File 631.8 KB