Feeding and Trophic Interaction of Fishes in a Newly Impounded Irrigation Reservoir in the Central Plain of Thailand

Main Article Content

Wiparat Thong-ngok
Thanitha Darbanandana
Tuantong Jutagate

Abstract

This study examines diet composition, diet overlap, and trophic interactions of fishes in Khlong Luang Rachalothorn Reservoir, which was impounded and first operated in 2015. Fish were sampled from four zones, namely upstream, transition zone, reservoir, and downstream. Samples were collected monthly from September 2017 to August 2018 using multi-mesh gill nets and seines. Stomach contents were examined, and food items were classified and scored by trophic weighting point scores. There was a total of 1,031 fish specimens, belonging to 46 species, sampled in this study. The highest number of species (n = 36) was collected from the reservoir zone. Results depict the important food items and feeding guilds in each area. Macroalgae was the most important diet category, followed by oligochaetes and aquatic insects in all areas. Each area has a distinctive community of fish that feed differently. Common fish species found at all stations showed high trophic feeding plasticity, as evident by diverse food items that differed spatio-temporally within a species, and by the wide diet breadth of these fishes. Fish species with trophic index less than 1.50 and greater than 2.50 tended to choose a unique diet, whereas fishes with trophic index in the range of 1.51-2.49 showed a wide range of food preferences. Low diet overlap (0.00-0.39) was observed in all study areas. The results reveal the importance of various food resources along each section of the reservoir and ability in resource utilization of fish species in Khlong Luang Rachalothorn Reservoir.

Article Details

How to Cite
Thong-ngok, W. ., Darbanandana, T. ., & Jutagate, T. . (2022). Feeding and Trophic Interaction of Fishes in a Newly Impounded Irrigation Reservoir in the Central Plain of Thailand. Journal of Fisheries and Environment, 46(3), 180–197. Retrieved from https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JFE/article/view/257506
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