Fish and fisheries in the Sesan River Basin: catchment baseline, fisheries section

The present report was prepared for the Water and Food Challenge Program project “Optimizing the management of a cascade of reservoirs at the catchment level” (MK3). It constitutes the baseline assessment of fish and fisheries in the Sesan River Basin. The objective of the MK3 project is to contribute knowledge and recommendations so that cascades of reservoirs corresponding to hydropower dams in the Mekong Basin are managed in ways that are more fair and equitable for all water users. This project seeks to understand at the catchment scale the cumulative upstream and downstream consequences of management decisions taken for multiple reservoirs. Revised rules for water storage infrastructure management will in particular take into account fisheries and agricultural potential as well as hydropower gen

Freshwater finfish biodiversity and conservation: an Asian perspective

Aspects on biodiversity and conservation of the ichthyofauna in the Asian region, in comparison to that of Africa, Europe and North America have been relatively less documented. This paper attempts to evaluate the above aspects in the East, and South and Southeast Asia based on available information in the literature. The familial diversity in inland waters in Asia (121 families) is considerably higher than in African and Latin American. Also, the finfish faunal diversity of 21 major river basins in East, and South and Southeast Asian indicate that species diversity is not necessarily related to familial diversity. The fish fauna in the region considered presently is highly diverse with an estimated cumulative total of 7447 species. Amongst the freshwater fishes the dominant groups are cyprinids (Cyprinidae, about 1000 species), loaches (about 400 species) of the families Balitoridae and Cobitiidae, gobids (Gobiidae, 300 species), catfishes (Bagridae, about 100 species), and the Osphronemidae (85 species). In the region, 462 freshwater finfish species are reckoned to be threatened, accounting for 17.5% of the all finfish species in this status in the world. In the region there are 66 species that are critically endangered and/or endangered, of which 32 are cyprinids, 14 of which are endemic to Lake Lanao, Mindano Island, Philippines. The diversity of freshwater fish species in the region was significantly related to the land area of the different countries in the following manner:

ln (species ratio) = ln 0.384 (land area in km2) + 0.651( R² = 0.628; p < 0.001).

In addition, the fish species diversity in the major river basins of the region was also found to be positively related to the basin area:

ln (Species richness index) = - 0.789 ln (Area) + 9.368( R² = 0.748; p < 0.001).

Based on above relationship, the predicted fish species richness did not necessarily correlate to river basin size, and rivers with small basins were shown to have high indices. The paper also attempts to evaluate the reasons affecting fish species diversity in the region and suggests mitigating measures.

Assessment of hydrologic impacts of climate change in Tunga-Bhadra river basin, India with HEC-HMS and SDSM

Climate change would significantly affect many hydrologic systems, which in turn would affect the water availability, runoff, and the flow in rivers. This study evaluates the impacts of possible future climate change scenarios on the hydrology of the catchment area of the TungaBhadra River, upstream of the Tungabhadra dam. The Hydrologic Engineering Center's Hydrologic Modeling System version 3.4 (HEC-HMS 3.4) is used for the hydrological modelling of the study area. Linear-regression-based Statistical DownScaling Model version 4.2 (SDSM 4.2) is used to downscale the daily maximum and minimum temperature, and daily precipitation in the four sub-basins of the study area. The large-scale climate variables for the A2 and B2 scenarios obtained from the Hadley Centre Coupled Model version 3 are used. After model calibration and testing of the downscaling procedure, the hydrological model is run for the three future periods: 20112040, 20412070, and 20712099. The impacts of climate change on the basin hydrology are assessed by comparing the present and future streamflow and the evapotranspiration estimates. Results of the water balance study suggest increasing precipitation and runoff and decreasing actual evapotranspiration losses over the sub-basins in the study area.

Test well exploration in the Myakka River Basin area, Florida

In recent years, difficulties encountered in obtaining ground-water supplies with acceptable chemical characteristics in the Myakka River basin area led to the implementation of a test drilling program. Under this program, well drilling and data collection were executed in such a manner that all water-producing zones of the local aquifers, together with the quality and quantity of the water available, were effectively identified. A step-drilling method was utilized which allowed the collection of formation cuttings, water samples, and water-level data, from isolated zones in the well as drilling proceeded. The step drilling procedure is described. The driller's logs, geophysical logs, and chemical quality of water tables are presented.(Document has 66 pages.)

Low streamflow in the Myakka River Basin Area in Florida

The Sarasota-Manatee area is a water-short area and the study was undertaken in 1963 in order to determine the storage capability and discharge rates of the Myakka water shed. It was found that many of the streams of the water shed were virtually dry during part of every year. However, the basins of the Myakka lakes, through which the river flows offer some storage potential, that if properly developed would provide a continuance drift of about seven million gallons of water per day of good quality water that would be high in color and temperature upon occasion. With reasonable treatment some of this water could be used to meet the present needs of the rapidly expanding coastal areas. (PDF contains 40 pages.)

Soil loss risk and habitat quality in streams of a meso-scale river basin

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Modelización de servicios ecosistémicos en una cuenca hidrológica del área mediterránea = Modeling ecosystem services in a mediterranean area river basin

La modelización es un proceso por el que se obtienen modelos de los procesos del ´mundo real´ mediante la utilización de simplificaciones. Sin embargo, las estimaciones obtenidas con el modelo llevan implícitas incertidumbre que se debe evaluar. Mediante un análisis de sensibilidad se puede mejorar la confianza en los resultados, sin embargo, este paso a veces no se realiza debido básicamente al trabajo que lleva consigo este tipo de análisis. Además, al crear un modelo, hay que mantener un equilibrio entre la obtención de resultados lo más exactos posible mediante un modelo lo más sencillo posible. Por ello, una vez creado un modelo, es imprescindible comprobar si es necesario o no incluir más procesos que en un principio no se habían incluido. Los servicios ecosistémicos son los procesos mediante los cuales los ecosistemas mantienen y satisfacen el bienestar humano. La importancia que los servicios ecosistémicos y sus beneficios asociados tienen, junto con la necesidad de realizar una buena gestión de los mismos, han estimulado la aparición de modelos y herramientas para cuantificarlos. InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradoffs) es una de estas herramientas específicas para calcular servicios eco-sistémicos, desarrollada por Natural Capital Project (Universidad de Stanford, EEUU). Como resultado del creciente interés en calcular los servicios eco-sistémicos, se prevé un incremento en la aplicación del InVEST. La investigación desarrollada en esta Tesis pretende ayudar en esas otras importantes fases necesarias después de la creación de un modelo, abarcando los dos siguientes trabajos. El primero es la aplicación de un análisis de sensibilidad al modelo en una cuenca concreta mediante la metodología más adecuada. El segundo es relativo a los procesos dentro de la corriente fluvial que actualmente no se incluyen en el modelo mediante la creación y aplicación de una metodología que estudiara el papel que juegan estos procesos en el modelo InVEST de retención de nutrientes en el área de estudio. Los resultados de esta Tesis contribuirán a comprender la incertidumbre involucrada en el proceso de modelado. También pondrá de manifiesto la necesidad de comprobar el comportamiento de un modelo antes de utilizarlo y en el momento de interpretar los resultados obtenidos. El trabajo en esta Tesis contribuirá a mejorar la plataforma InVEST, que es una herramienta importante en el ámbito de los servicios de los ecosistemas. Dicho trabajo beneficiará a los futuros usuarios de la herramienta, ya sean investigadores (en investigaciones futuras), o técnicos (en futuros trabajos de toma de decisiones o gestión ecosistemas). ABSTRACT Modeling is the process to idealize real-world situations through simplifications in order to obtain a model. However, model estimations lead to uncertainties that have to be evaluated formally. The role of the sensitivity analysis (SA) is to assign model output uncertainty based on the inputs and can increase confidence in model, however, it is often omitted in modelling, usually as a result of the growing effort it involves. In addition, the balance between accuracy and simplicity is not easy to assess. For this reason, when a model is developed, it is necessary to test it in order to understand its behavior and to include, if necessary, more complexity to get a better response. Ecosystem services are the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and their constituent species, sustain and fulfill human life. The relevance of ecosystem services and the need to better manage them and their associated benefits have stimulated the emergence of models and tools to measure them. InVEST, Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradoffs, is one of these ecosystem services-specific tools developed by the Natural Capital Project (Stanford University, USA). As a result of the growing interest in measuring ecosystem services, the use of InVEST is anticipated to grow exponentially in the coming years. However, apart from model development, making a model involves other crucial stages such as its evaluation and application in order to validate estimations. The work developed in this thesis tries to help in this relevant and imperative phase of the modeling process, and does so in two different ways. The first one is to conduct a sensitivity analysis of the model, which consists in choosing and applying a methodology in an area and analyzing the results obtained. The second is related to the in-stream processes that are not modeled in the current model, and consists in creating and applying a methodology for testing the streams role in the InVEST nutrient retention model in a case study, analyzing the results obtained. The results of this Thesis will contribute to the understanding of the uncertainties involved in the modeling process. It will also illustrate the need to check the behavior of every model developed before putting them in production and illustrate the importance of understanding their behavior in terms of correctly interpreting the results obtained in light of uncertainty. The work in this thesis will contribute to improve the InVEST platform, which is an important tool in the field of ecosystem services. Such work will benefit future users, whether they are researchers (in their future research), or technicians (in their future work in ecosystem conservation or management decisions).

Modelización de servicios ecosistémicos en una cuenca hidrológica del área mediterránea = Modeling ecosystem services in a mediterranean area river basin

La modelización es un proceso por el que se obtienen modelos de los procesos del ´mundo real´ mediante la utilización de simplificaciones. Sin embargo, las estimaciones obtenidas con el modelo llevan implícitas incertidumbre que se debe evaluar. Mediante un análisis de sensibilidad se puede mejorar la confianza en los resultados, sin embargo, este paso a veces no se realiza debido básicamente al trabajo que lleva consigo este tipo de análisis. Además, al crear un modelo, hay que mantener un equilibrio entre la obtención de resultados lo más exactos posible mediante un modelo lo más sencillo posible. Por ello, una vez creado un modelo, es imprescindible comprobar si es necesario o no incluir más procesos que en un principio no se habían incluido. Los servicios ecosistémicos son los procesos mediante los cuales los ecosistemas mantienen y satisfacen el bienestar humano. La importancia que los servicios ecosistémicos y sus beneficios asociados tienen, junto con la necesidad de realizar una buena gestión de los mismos, han estimulado la aparición de modelos y herramientas para cuantificarlos. InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradoffs) es una de estas herramientas específicas para calcular servicios eco-sistémicos, desarrollada por Natural Capital Project (Universidad de Stanford, EEUU). Como resultado del creciente interés en calcular los servicios eco-sistémicos, se prevé un incremento en la aplicación del InVEST. La investigación desarrollada en esta Tesis pretende ayudar en esas otras importantes fases necesarias después de la creación de un modelo, abarcando los dos siguientes trabajos. El primero es la aplicación de un análisis de sensibilidad al modelo en una cuenca concreta mediante la metodología más adecuada. El segundo es relativo a los procesos dentro de la corriente fluvial que actualmente no se incluyen en el modelo mediante la creación y aplicación de una metodología que estudiara el papel que juegan estos procesos en el modelo InVEST de retención de nutrientes en el área de estudio. Los resultados de esta Tesis contribuirán a comprender la incertidumbre involucrada en el proceso de modelado. También pondrá de manifiesto la necesidad de comprobar el comportamiento de un modelo antes de utilizarlo y en el momento de interpretar los resultados obtenidos. El trabajo en esta Tesis contribuirá a mejorar la plataforma InVEST, que es una herramienta importante en el ámbito de los servicios de los ecosistemas. Dicho trabajo beneficiará a los futuros usuarios de la herramienta, ya sean investigadores (en investigaciones futuras), o técnicos (en futuros trabajos de toma de decisiones o gestión ecosistemas). ABSTRACT Modeling is the process to idealize real-world situations through simplifications in order to obtain a model. However, model estimations lead to uncertainties that have to be evaluated formally. The role of the sensitivity analysis (SA) is to assign model output uncertainty based on the inputs and can increase confidence in model, however, it is often omitted in modelling, usually as a result of the growing effort it involves. In addition, the balance between accuracy and simplicity is not easy to assess. For this reason, when a model is developed, it is necessary to test it in order to understand its behavior and to include, if necessary, more complexity to get a better response. Ecosystem services are the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and their constituent species, sustain and fulfill human life. The relevance of ecosystem services and the need to better manage them and their associated benefits have stimulated the emergence of models and tools to measure them. InVEST, Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradoffs, is one of these ecosystem services-specific tools developed by the Natural Capital Project (Stanford University, USA). As a result of the growing interest in measuring ecosystem services, the use of InVEST is anticipated to grow exponentially in the coming years. However, apart from model development, making a model involves other crucial stages such as its evaluation and application in order to validate estimations. The work developed in this thesis tries to help in this relevant and imperative phase of the modeling process, and does so in two different ways. The first one is to conduct a sensitivity analysis of the model, which consists in choosing and applying a methodology in an area and analyzing the results obtained. The second is related to the in-stream processes that are not modeled in the current model, and consists in creating and applying a methodology for testing the streams role in the InVEST nutrient retention model in a case study, analyzing the results obtained. The results of this Thesis will contribute to the understanding of the uncertainties involved in the modeling process. It will also illustrate the need to check the behavior of every model developed before putting them in production and illustrate the importance of understanding their behavior in terms of correctly interpreting the results obtained in light of uncertainty. The work in this thesis will contribute to improve the InVEST platform, which is an important tool in the field of ecosystem services. Such work will benefit future users, whether they are researchers (in their future research), or technicians (in their future work in ecosystem conservation or management decisions).

Drilling report, Wind River Basin Project no. 1, Gas Hills area, Wyoming.

"January 1956."

Vermilion River (Illinois River Basin) area assessment.

The Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP) documents changes in ecological conditions.

Economic assessment of best management practices in the Mara River Basin : toward implementing payment for watershed services

The Mara River in East Africa is currently experiencing poor water quality and increased fluctuations in seasonal flow. This study investigated technically effective and economically viable Best Management Practices for adoption in the Mara River Basin of Kenya that can stop further water resources degradation. A survey of 155 farmers was conducted in the upper catchment of the Kenyan side of the river basin. Farmers provided their assessment of BMPs that would best suit their farm in terms of water quality improvement, economic feasibility, and technicalsuitability. Cost data on different practices from farmers and published literature was collected. The results indicated that erosion control structures and runoff management practices were most suitable for adoption. The study estimated the total area that would be improved to restore water quality and reduce further water resources degradation. Farmers were found to incur losses from adopting new practices and would therefore require monetary support.

Student Independent Projects Environmental Studies 2011: The Humber River Basin Human Values Project: Designing a Sampling Strategy for a Pilot Survey in the Corner Brook Area

Sustainability can be indicated by a number of factors. Populations need to be aged evenly, ensuring a healthy equilibrium. Job opportunities must be numerous and of wide varieties to balance incomes from different employment sectors. Regions must also sustain vital natural resources in the area which are directly related to a place being self-sustaining. These indicators prove to be true, especially in Newfoundland, where people have struggled to remain in the small traditional communities that they consider being there 'home.' The population of Corner Brook and the surrounding areas can be stratified according to the values people hold to their special place. Even though people in western Newfoundland hold strong ties to their home, some parts of the region even though people in western Newfoundland hold strong ties to their home, some parts of the region struggle with employment, low incomes, out-migration, and dependency on declining natural resources. The aim of this paper is to present the process of designing a sample strategy for a human values pilot survey conducted in the city of Corner Brook. It will present a theoretical background over the period 2002-2006 to be used for sampling strategy.

Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) and anchor worms (Lernaea cyprinacea) found on sea trout (Salmo trutta) in the River Minho catchment, an important area for conservation in NW Spain

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank M. N. Cueto and J. M. Antonio (ECOBIOMAR) for molecular analysis and technical support. K. MacKenzie (University of Aberdeen) and A. Roura (ECOBIOMAR) assisted with the taxonomic identification of parasites. We are also grateful to P. Caballero (Service Nature Conservation of the Xunta de Galicia) for fish sampling support.

Biophysical indicators based on satellite images in an irrigated area at the São Francisco River Basin, Brazil.

The Jaíba Irrigated Perimeter is a large irrigated agriculturearea, located in the region Forest Jaíba between the SãoFrancisco and Verde Grande rivers, in the Brazilian semi-arid region. In 2014, irrigators thisthe region face losses in theinterruption of new plantings in irrigated areas due to water scarcity. The objective ofthis study is combine the modelto estimate the Monteith BIO with the SAFER algorithm in the case of obtaining ET, to analyze the dynamics of naturalvegetation and irrigated crops in water scarcity period. For application of the model are necessary data frommeteorological stations and satellite images. Were used 23satellite images of MODIS withspatial resolution of 250mand temporal 16 days, of 2014 year. For analyze the results,we used central pivots irrigation mask of Minas Geraisstate, Brazil. In areas with irrigated agriculture with central pivot, the mean values of BIO over the year 2014 were88.96 kg.ha-1.d-1. The highest values occurred between April 23 and May 8, with BIO 139 kg.ha-1.d-1. For areas withnatural vegetation, the average BIO was 88.34 kg.ha-1.d-1with lower values in September. Estimates of ET varied withthe lowest values of ET observedin natural vegetation 1,91±1,22 mm.d-1and the highest values in irrigated area isobserved 3,51±0,97 mm.d-1. Results of this study can assist in monitoring of river basins, contributing to themanagement irrigated agriculture, with the trend of scarcity of water resources and increasing conflicts for the wateruse.

Role of predictors in downscaling surface temperature to river basin in India for IPCC SRES scenarios using support vector machine

In this paper, downscaling models are developed using a support vector machine (SVM) for obtaining projections of monthly mean maximum and minimum temperatures (T-max and T-min) to river-basin scale. The effectiveness of the model is demonstrated through application to downscale the predictands for the catchment of the Malaprabha reservoir in India, which is considered to be a climatically sensitive region. The probable predictor variables are extracted from (1) the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis dataset for the period 1978-2000, and (2) the simulations from the third-generation Canadian Coupled Global Climate Model (CGCM3) for emission scenarios A1B, A2, B1 and COMMIT for the period 1978-2100. The predictor variables are classified into three groups, namely A, B and C. Large-scale atmospheric variables Such as air temperature, zonal and meridional wind velocities at 925 nib which are often used for downscaling temperature are considered as predictors in Group A. Surface flux variables such as latent heat (LH), sensible heat, shortwave radiation and longwave radiation fluxes, which control temperature of the Earth's surface are tried as plausible predictors in Group B. Group C comprises of all the predictor variables in both the Groups A and B. The scatter plots and cross-correlations are used for verifying the reliability of the simulation of the predictor variables by the CGCM3 and to Study the predictor-predictand relationships. The impact of trend in predictor variables on downscaled temperature was studied. The predictor, air temperature at 925 mb showed an increasing trend, while the rest of the predictors showed no trend. The performance of the SVM models that are developed, one for each combination of predictor group, predictand, calibration period and location-based stratification (land, land and ocean) of climate variables, was evaluated. In general, the models which use predictor variables pertaining to land surface improved the performance of SVM models for downscaling T-max and T-min