HR: 08:30h
AN: NB41A-01    [Abstracts]
TI: Ecological Health Assessment for the Mekong Basin: Primary Productivity and Phytoplankton Composition
AU: * Parnrong, S
EM: supatra.d@psu.ac.th
AF: Department of Aquatic Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90112 Thailand
AB: A major ecological health assessment project for the entire Mekong Basin was started in 2003, to investigate appropriate bio-indicators for assessing river health. Several indicators were tested at 13 disturbed and undisturbed sites, including main channels and tributaries. Primary productivity and phytoplankton composition were tested for their applicability as ecological health indicators. Primary productivity was estimated using the Dark-Light bottle technique, producing values ranging from less than 10 mg C m^{-3 h-1 to over 80 mg C m-3 h-1. Phytoplankton composition and density were determined from collected water samples, and a total of 103 species of phytoplankton were found. Diatoms have the highest species diversity (37), contributing approximately 98% by volume of the total phytoplankton density. Neither the primary productivity estimates nor the phytoplankton composition data exhibit unexpected characteristics, which suggests that the sampling sites have not suffered from ecosystem degradation.}
DE: 1845 Limnology
DE: 4855 Plankton
DE: 9320 Asia
DE: 9345 Large bodies of water (e.g., lakes and inland seas)
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly