Fish species composition and their distribution of the Pho Day river, Northern Vietnam

JOURNAL OF SCIENCE OF HNUE DOI: 10.18173/2354-1059.2015-00083 Chemical and Biological Sci. 2015, Vol. 60, No. 9, pp. 91-96 This paper is available online at Received May 20, 2015. Accepted September 18, 2015. Contact Nguyen Huu Duc, e-mail address: duc.nguyen1942@gmail.com 91 FISH SPECIES COMPOSITION AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION OF THE PHO DAY RIVER, NORTHERN VIETNAM Nguyen Huu Duc1 and Vu Thi Thu Huong2 1 Faculty of Biology, Hanoi National University of Education 2 Vietnam Livestock Institute Abstract. In six surveys conducted at 11 locations along the Pho Day River, Northern Vietnam, from April 2006 to April 2007, 12 3 fish specimens were collected and analyzed. 87 species of fish of 66 genera, 20 families and 6 orders were found. No survey of Pho Day fish fauna had previously been conducted. Perciformes is the most diverse with 7 families (accounting for 35% of total families), followed by catfish (Siluriformes) with 6 families (30%), Cypriniformes with 3 families (accounting for 15%), Synbranchiformes with 2 families (accounting for 10%), with two more orders having one family each (accounting for 5% each). Cypriniformes is most abundant with 55 species (accounting for 63.22%). Cyprinidae is the richest genus with 35 genera (accounting for 53.03%) with the largest number of species at 45 species (accounted for 51.72%). Five of the species found are listed in the Vietnamese Red Data Book (2007), the Blotched snakehead (Channa maculata) listed as EN and four species, Bangana tonkinensis, Bangana lemassoni, Bagarius rutilus and Hemibagrus guttatus, listed as VU. Seasonal distribution is also mentioned. Keywords: Biodiversity, fish species composition, distribution, Pho Day River, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Phuc, Northern Vietnam. 1. Introduction The Pho Day River, about 160 km long, is a tributary on the left bank of the Lo River, with the upstream and midstream sections flowing in northern mountains regions, while downstream it flows in Vinh Phuc Province. The source of the Pho Day River is in the mountains of Tam Tao, in Cho Don District, Bac Kan Province. The river flows through the districts of Yen Son and Son Duong in Tuyen Quang Provi ce and Lap Thach, Tam Dao,Tam Duong and Vinh Tuong in Vinh Phuc province, entering the Lo River in the Shandong Commune (Lap Thach District) and the Viet Xuan Commune (Vinh Tuong Nguyen Huu Duc and Vu Thi Thu Huong 92 District), about 200 m from the Viet Tri Bridge. Across the river is the Lo River at the intersection of Phu Tho Province. Less than 2 km downstream from the confluence of the Lo River and Pho Day River, the Lo River flows into the Red River [1]. The Red River flows through the western edge of Tam Dao National Park. This article supply data on fish species composition and distribution in the Pho Day River based on studies conducted in 2006 and 2007. 2. Content 2.1. Materials and methods Fish were collected between April 2006 and April 2007 on 65 days at 11 locations: Trung Minh and Kim Quan (Yen Son District); Tan Trao, Binh Yen, Son Duong, Hop Hoa and Son Nam (Son Duong District); Yen Duong and Thai Hoa (Tam Dao District); Dong Ich (Tam Duong District) and Shandong (Vinh Tuong District) (Figure 1). Figure 1. Site map and sampling locations 1203 fish samples were collected by fishermen who used gill nets, trammel nets, hoop nets and minnow traps. In addition, some samples were obtained from marketplaces near the research site. Fish samples were fixed in a formalin solution of 8 - 10%, preserved in formalin solution of 4 - 5% and kept at the Animal Laboratory, Department of Biology, Hanoi National University of Education. Analysis of individual morphological characteristics was done according to Pravdin IF (1963) [2]. Identification of fish species follows Nguyen Van Hao & Ngo Si Van (2001, 2005a, 2005b) [3-5], Mai Dinh Yen (1978) [6], Kottelat M. (2001a, 2001b) [7, 8], Chen Yiyu Fish species composition and their distribution of the Pho Day River, Northern Vietnam 93 (1998) [9], Yue Peiqi (2000) [10] and Chen Chu Xinluo & Yinrui (1989, 1990) [11, 12]. Sequences of species follows the classification system of W.N. Eschmeyer (1998) [13]. 2.2. Results and discussion 2.2.1. Fish species composition of the Pho Day River This study determined that in the Pho Day River are 87 species of fish belonging to 66 genera, 20 families and 6 orders (Table 1). Table 1. Fish Species Composition of the Pho Day River No. Scientific name No. Scientific name I Cypriniformes 53 Balitora brucei Gray, 1830 1 Cyprinidae 54 B. sp. 1 Opsariichthys uncirostris (Tem.& Sch., 1846) 55 Sinogastromyzon rugocauda Mai, 1978 2 Rasbora cephalotaenia (Bleeker, 1852) II Characiformes 3 Mylopharyngodon piceus (Richardson, 1846) 4 Serrasalmidae 4 Ctenopharyngodon idellus (Cuv. & Val., 1844) 56 Piaractus brachypomus (Cuvier, 1818) 5 Squaliobarbus curriculus (Richardson, 1846) III Siluriformes 6 Elopichthys bambusa (Richardson, 1846) VU 5 Bagridae 7 Toxabramis houdmeri Pelegrin, 1932 57 Tachysurus fulvidraco (Richardson, 1846) 8 Hemiculter leucisculus (Basilewsky, 1853) 58 Pelteobagrus vachellii (Richardson, 1846) 9 H. songhongensis Nguyen & Nguyen, 2001 59 Hemibagrus guttatus (1803) VU 10 Ancherythroculter erythropterus Basil., 1855 60 H. chiemhoaensis Nguyen V.H, 2005 11 Pseudohemiculter hainanensis (N. & P., 1927) 6 Cranoglanidae 12 Megalobrama terminalis (Richardson, 1845) 61 Cranoglanis bouderius (Richardson, 1846) 13 Sinibrama melrosei (Nichols & Pope, 1927) 7 Siluridae 14 Erythroculter hypselonotus (Bleeker, 1871) 62 Silurus asotus Linnaeus, 1758 15 Metzia lineatus (Pelegrin, 1907) 8 Pangasiidae 16 M. formosae (Oshima, 1920) 63 Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauv., 1878) 17 Xenocypris argentea Gunther, 1868 9 Sisoridae 18 Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val., 1844) 64 Bagarius rutilus Ng & Kottelat, 2000 VU 19 H. notabilis (Richardson, 1844) 65 Glyptothorax macromaculatus Li, 1984 20 Rhodeus ocellatus (Kner, 1867) 66 Pseudecheneis paviei Vaillant, 1892 21 R. vietnamensis Mai, 1978 10 Clariidae 22 Acheilognathus tonkinensis (Vaillant, 1892) 67 Clarias fuscus (Lacepède, 1803) 23 A. macropterus (Bleeker, 1871) 68 C. gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) Nguyen Huu Duc and Vu Thi Thu Huong 94 24 Hemibarbus labeo Pallas, 1776 IV Beloniformes 25 H. thacmoensis Nguyen, 2001 11 Adrianichthyidae 26 Squalidus argentatus (Sauvage & Dabry, 1874) 69 Oryzias sinensis Chen, Uwa & Chu, 1989 27 Sarcocheilichthys nigripinnis (Gunther, 1873) 70 O. latipes (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) 28 Microphysogobio kachekensis (Oshima, 1926) V Synbranchiformes 29 Gobiobotia kolleri Bănărescu & Nalbant, 1966 12 Synbranchidae 30 Paraspinibarbus alloiopleurus (Vaillant, 1893) 71 Monopterus albus (Zuiew, 1787) 31 Spinibarbus denticulatus Oshima, 1920 13 Mastacembelidae 32 S. hollandi Oshima, 1919 72 Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepède, 1800) 33 Puntius semifasciolata Günther, 1868 VI Perciformes 34 Onychostoma gerlachi (Peters, 1881) 14 Percichthyidae 35 O. simum (Sauvage & Dabry , 1874) 73 Coreoperca whiteheadi Boulenger, 1900 36 Bangana lemassoni (Pell. & Chev., 1936) VU 15 Cichlidae 37 B. tonkinensis (Pellegrin & Chevey, 1936) VU 74 Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1880) 38 Labeo rhohita (Hamilton, 1822) 75 O. niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) 39 Cirrhina molitorella (Cuv. & Val., 1842) 16 Odontobutidae 40 Cirrhinus cirrhosus (Bloch, 1795) 76 Neodontobutis tonkinensis (Mai, 1978) 41 Osteochilus salsbuyi Nichols & Pope, 1927 77 Sineleotris chalmersi (N. & P., 1927) 42 Garra orientalis Nichols, 1925 17 Gobiidae 43 Carassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) 78 Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton, 1822) 44 Carassioides acuminatus (Richardson, 1846) 79 Rhinogobius giurinus (Rutter, 1897) 45 Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758) 80 R. leavelli (Herre, 1935) 2 Cobitidae 81 R. longipinnis Nguyen & Vo, 2005 46 Leptobotia elongata (Bleeker, 1870) 18 Anabantidae 47 Parabotia fasciata Dabry, 1872. 82 Anabas testudineus (Bloch, 1792) 48 Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Cantor, 1842) 19 Osphronemidae 3 Balitoridae 83 Macropodus opercularis Linnaeus, 1758 49 Traccatichthys pulcher (Nichols & Pope, 1927) 84 Trichopodus trichopterus (Pallas, 1770) 50 Schistura caudofurca (Mai, 1978) 20 Channidae 51 S. sp. 85 Channa asiatica (Linnaeus, 1758) 52 Beaufortia loos Mai, 1978 86 C. maculata (Lacepède, 1801) EN 87 C. striata Bloch, 1797 Note. EN: Endangered; VU: Vulnerable (in the Vietnamese Red Data Book (2007)[1] Fish species composition and their distribution of the Pho Day River, Northern Vietnam 95 * Diversity Of the 6 orders, Perciformes was the most diverse in the present study (7 families, accounting for 35%), Siluriformes was second (6 families, accounting for 30%), followed by Cypriniformes (3 families, accounting for 15%) and Synbranchiformes (2 families, accounting for 10%) and (Clupeiformes, Beloniformes and Cyprinodontiformes) (1 family, accounting for 5% for each order). Cypriniformes had the most species (55 species, accounting for 63.21%) (Table 1). Of the 20 families found, Cyprinidae dominated with 35 genera (constituting of 53.03%) followed by Balitoridae (5 genera, constituting 7.58%), Bagridae and and Sisoridae (3 genera each family, constituting 4.54%). There are 3 families with 2 genera each and 11 families with only one genus each. Of the 66 genera, 18 were plural species and 48 were singular species. Channa was the most diverse genus with 3 species accounting for 4.54%. * Conservation aspects Of the 87 fish species collected in the area, five were listed in Vi tnam‟s Red Data Book (2007) [14], one as EN - the Blotched snakehead (Channa maculata) and 4 as VU - Bangana tonkinensis, B. lemassoni, Hemibagrus guttatus and Bagarius rutilus. 2.2.2. Distribution * Seasonal distribution In the research area, there are two distinct seasons. During the hot and humid summer heavy rain occurs with the river flow rate being 71% of the annual flow. The winter is dry and the river flow rate is low. This significantly affects the distribution of fish. While 70 to 87 (80.45%) species are present during the rainy season, only 60 (68.96%) species are present during the dry season. 53 species have been found in both the rainy and dry season. 17 species were found only during the rainy season. * Habitat distribution In the habitats looked at in this study, the river habitats are richest in species number with 71 species (81.61%), followed by the stream habitat with 29 species (33.33%). Static water (ponds, lakes, fields) was found to have the least number of species with 25 species (28.74%). Among the 87 species, 47 species were found in only one habitat, 33 species were found in 2 habitats, only 7 species were widely distributed in all 3 habitats. 3. Conclusion The present paper shows that there were 87 species belonging to 66 genera, 20 families and 6 orders in the Pho Day River in Northern Vietnam, none of them previously identified in the study area. 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