IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecomod/v323y2016icp1-11.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Toward an ecological understanding of a flood-pulse system lake in a tropical ecosystem: Food web structure and ecosystem health

Author

Listed:
  • Chea, Ratha
  • Guo, Chuanbo
  • Grenouillet, Gaël
  • Lek, Sovan

Abstract

Tonle Sap Great Lake (TSL) is the largest freshwater lake ecosystem in Southeast Asia and receptacle of impressive biodiversity. However, there is surprisingly little knowledge of its ecosystem structure and functioning. The main objective of the current work was to quantify the food web structure and assess the ecosystem health status of the TSL system by constructing the first holistic food web model using Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE). The results indicate that the ecotrophic efficiency (EE) values were very high for most of functional groups (EE>0.5) except molluscs (0.146) and macrophytes (0.102). The high EE values together with the MTI (Mixed Trophic Impact) analysis indicated the overexploitation and degradation of fishery resources in the TSL system. The discrete trophic levels varied from 1 (phytoplankton, macrophytes and detritus) to 3.17 (snakehead). The energy transfer in the TSL food web was based mostly on the detrital food chain (77.9%) rather than the grazing food chain (22.1%), with an average transfer efficiency of 8.27%. The ratios of total primary production to respiration (TPP/TR) and to biomass (TPP/TB) were 1.23 and 2.04, respectively, while the Ascendency and Finn cycling index (FCI) of the system were estimated at 27.4% and 23.62%. Nevertheless, the connectance index (CI: 0.253) and system omnivory index (SOI: 0.075) were in-between compared to other lake ecosystems, which indicated that the food web structure was characterized by linear, rather than web-like features. Systematic analysis and indicators suggested that the ecosystem was a relatively healthy ecosystem achieving a certain stage of maturity, albeit with a vulnerable food web structure. Accordingly, some ecosystem-based strategies are presented for the improvement of fishery management and ecosystem conservation in TSL.

Suggested Citation

  • Chea, Ratha & Guo, Chuanbo & Grenouillet, Gaël & Lek, Sovan, 2016. "Toward an ecological understanding of a flood-pulse system lake in a tropical ecosystem: Food web structure and ecosystem health," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 323(C), pages 1-11.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:323:y:2016:i:c:p:1-11
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.11.014
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380015005463
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.11.014?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fetahi, Tadesse & Schagerl, Michael & Mengistou, Seyoum & Libralato, Simone, 2011. "Food web structure and trophic interactions of the tropical highland lake Hayq, Ethiopia," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(3), pages 804-813.
    2. Fetahi, Tadesse & Mengistou, Seyoum, 2007. "Trophic analysis of Lake Awassa (Ethiopia) using mass-balance Ecopath model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 201(3), pages 398-408.
    3. Liu, Qi-Gen & Chen, Yong & Li, Jia-Le & Chen, Li-Qiao, 2007. "The food web structure and ecosystem properties of a filter-feeding carps dominated deep reservoir ecosystem," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 203(3), pages 279-289.
    4. Christensen, V. & Pauly, D. (eds.), 1993. "Trophic models of aquatic ecosystems," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 8432, April.
    5. Arias, Mauricio E. & Cochrane, Thomas A. & Kummu, Matti & Lauri, Hannu & Holtgrieve, Gordon W. & Koponen, Jorma & Piman, Thanapon, 2014. "Impacts of hydropower and climate change on drivers of ecological productivity of Southeast Asia's most important wetland," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 272(C), pages 252-263.
    6. A. S. MacDougall & K. S. McCann & G. Gellner & R. Turkington, 2013. "Diversity loss with persistent human disturbance increases vulnerability to ecosystem collapse," Nature, Nature, vol. 494(7435), pages 86-89, February.
    7. Darwall, William R.T. & Allison, Edward H. & Turner, George F. & Irvine, Kenneth, 2010. "Lake of flies, or lake of fish? A trophic model of Lake Malawi," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(4), pages 713-727.
    8. Guo, Chuanbo & Ye, Shaowen & Lek, Sovan & Liu, Jiashou & Zhang, Tanglin & Yuan, Jin & Li, Zhongjie, 2013. "The need for improved fishery management in a shallow macrophytic lake in the Yangtze River basin: Evidence from the food web structure and ecosystem analysis," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 267(C), pages 138-147.
    9. Ulanowicz, Robert E., 1987. "Growth and development: Variational principles reconsidered," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 173-178, June.
    10. Jia, Peiqiao & Hu, Menghong & Hu, Zhongjun & Liu, Qigen & Wu, Zhen, 2012. "Modeling trophic structure and energy flows in a typical macrophyte dominated shallow lake using the mass balanced model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 233(C), pages 26-30.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuichiro Yoshida & Han Soo Lee & Bui Huy Trung & Hoang-Dung Tran & Mahrjan Keshlav Lall & Kifayatullah Kakar & Tran Dang Xuan, 2020. "Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Venkatesh Paramesh & Giri Bhavan Sreekanth & Eaknath. B. Chakurkar & H.B. Chethan Kumar & Parappurath Gokuldas & Kallakeri Kannappa Manohara & Gopal Ramdas Mahajan & Racharla Solomon Rajkumar & Natesa, 2020. "Ecosystem Network Analysis in a Smallholder Integrated Crop–Livestock System for Coastal Lowland Situation in Tropical Humid Conditions of India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Wang, Yuyu & Kao, Yu-Chun & Zhou, Yangming & Zhang, Huan & Yu, Xiubo & Lei, Guangchun, 2019. "Can water level management, stock enhancement, and fishery restriction offset negative effects of hydrological changes on the four major Chinese carps in China’s largest freshwater lake?," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 403(C), pages 1-10.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shan, Kun & Li, Lin & Wang, Xiaoxiao & Wu, Yanlong & Hu, Lili & Yu, Gongliang & Song, Lirong, 2014. "Modelling ecosystem structure and trophic interactions in a typical cyanobacterial bloom-dominated shallow Lake Dianchi, China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 291(C), pages 82-95.
    2. Tesfaye, Gashaw & Wolff, Matthias, 2018. "Modeling trophic interactions and the impact of an introduced exotic carp species in the Rift Valley Lake Koka, Ethiopia," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 378(C), pages 26-36.
    3. Kong, Xiangzhen & He, Wei & Liu, Wenxiu & Yang, Bin & Xu, Fuliu & Jørgensen, Sven Erik & Mooij, Wolf M., 2016. "Changes in food web structure and ecosystem functioning of a large, shallow Chinese lake during the 1950s, 1980s and 2000s," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 319(C), pages 31-41.
    4. Han, Jeong-Ho & Kumar, Hema K. & Lee, Jae Hoon & Zhang, Chang-Ik & Kim, Se-Wha & Lee, Jung-Ho & Kim, Sang Don & An, Kwang-Guk, 2011. "Integrative trophic network assessments of a lentic ecosystem by key ecological approaches of water chemistry, trophic guilds, and ecosystem health assessments along with an ECOPATH model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(19), pages 3457-3472.
    5. Ortiz, Marco & Berrios, Fernando & Campos, Leonardo & Uribe, Roberto & Ramirez, Alejandro & Hermosillo-Núñez, Brenda & González, Jorge & Rodriguez-Zaragoza, Fabián, 2015. "Mass balanced trophic models and short-term dynamical simulations for benthic ecological systems of Mejillones and Antofagasta bays (SE Pacific): Comparative network structure and assessment of human ," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 309, pages 153-162.
    6. Duan, L.J. & Li, S.Y. & Liu, Y. & Moreau, J. & Christensen, V., 2009. "Modeling changes in the coastal ecosystem of the Pearl River Estuary from 1981 to 1998," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 220(20), pages 2802-2818.
    7. Natugonza, Vianny & Ogutu-Ohwayo, Richard & Musinguzi, Laban & Kashindye, Benedicto & Jónsson, Steingrímur & Valtysson, Hreidar Thor, 2016. "Exploring the structural and functional properties of the Lake Victoria food web, and the role of fisheries, using a mass balance model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 342(C), pages 161-174.
    8. Guo, Chuanbo & Ye, Shaowen & Lek, Sovan & Liu, Jiashou & Zhang, Tanglin & Yuan, Jin & Li, Zhongjie, 2013. "The need for improved fishery management in a shallow macrophytic lake in the Yangtze River basin: Evidence from the food web structure and ecosystem analysis," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 267(C), pages 138-147.
    9. Jia, Peiqiao & Hu, Menghong & Hu, Zhongjun & Liu, Qigen & Wu, Zhen, 2012. "Modeling trophic structure and energy flows in a typical macrophyte dominated shallow lake using the mass balanced model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 233(C), pages 26-30.
    10. Fetahi, Tadesse & Schagerl, Michael & Mengistou, Seyoum & Libralato, Simone, 2011. "Food web structure and trophic interactions of the tropical highland lake Hayq, Ethiopia," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(3), pages 804-813.
    11. Heymans, Johanna Jacomina & Coll, Marta & Link, Jason S. & Mackinson, Steven & Steenbeek, Jeroen & Walters, Carl & Christensen, Villy, 2016. "Best practice in Ecopath with Ecosim food-web models for ecosystem-based management," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 331(C), pages 173-184.
    12. Hossain, Md. Monir & Matsuishi, Takashi & Arhonditsis, George, 2010. "Elucidation of ecosystem attributes of an oligotrophic lake in Hokkaido, Japan, using Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(13), pages 1717-1730.
    13. Prado, Patricia & Ibáñez, Carles & Caiola, Nuno & Reyes, Enrique, 2013. "Evaluation of seasonal variability in the food-web properties of coastal lagoons subjected to contrasting salinity gradients using network analyses," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 265(C), pages 180-193.
    14. Sabrina Al Ismaili & Sachinandan Dutta, 2023. "Ecosystem Characteristics and Trophic Model of the Artificial Reef Ecosystem in the Sea of Oman, Sultanate of Oman," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-27, December.
    15. Wang, Sai & Wang, Lin & Chang, Hao-Yen & Li, Feng & Tang, Jin-Peng & Zhou, Xing-An & Li, Xing & Tian, Shi-Mi & Lin, Hsing-Juh & Yang, Yang, 2018. "Longitudinal variation in energy flow networks along a large subtropical river, China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 387(C), pages 83-95.
    16. Milessi, Andrés C. & Danilo, Calliari & Laura, Rodríguez-Graña & Daniel, Conde & Javier, Sellanes & Rodríguez-Gallego, Lorena, 2010. "Trophic mass-balance model of a subtropical coastal lagoon, including a comparison with a stable isotope analysis of the food-web," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(24), pages 2859-2869.
    17. Yuichiro Yoshida & Han Soo Lee & Bui Huy Trung & Hoang-Dung Tran & Mahrjan Keshlav Lall & Kifayatullah Kakar & Tran Dang Xuan, 2020. "Impacts of Mainstream Hydropower Dams on Fisheries and Agriculture in Lower Mekong Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-21, March.
    18. Moreau, J. & Palomares, M.L.D. & Torres, F.S.B., Jr. & Pauly, D., 1995. "Atlas demographique des populations de poissons d'eau douce d'Afrique," Monographs, The WorldFish Center, number 10441, April.
    19. Booth, Shawn & Walters, William J & Steenbeek, Jeroen & Christensen, Villy & Charmasson, Sabine, 2020. "An Ecopath with Ecosim model for the Pacific coast of eastern Japan: Describing the marine environment and its fisheries prior to the Great East Japan earthquake," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 428(C).
    20. Díaz López, Bruno & Bunke, Mandy & Bernal Shirai, Julia Andrea, 2008. "Marine aquaculture off Sardinia Island (Italy): Ecosystem effects evaluated through a trophic mass-balance model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 212(3), pages 292-303.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:323:y:2016:i:c:p:1-11. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/ecological-modelling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.