Scientific Research
The Wonders of the Mekong project has produced a wealth of scientific research, advancing global understanding of the Mekong River and its vital ecosystems. These publications, produced in collaboration with leading researchers and institutions, contribute to critical knowledge on topics ranging from fish biodiversity and hydrological patterns to ecosystem health and conservation strategies.
Through rigorous research and data-driven insights, the project informs sustainable management practices, promotes ecological resilience, and guides conservation efforts that benefit both the region and the global scientific
community.
Select list of publications:
Arias, M., Holtgrieve, G., Ngor, P.B., Dang, T.D., &; Piman, T. (2019). Maintaining perspective of ongoing environmental change in the Mekong floodplains. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability.
Baird, I.G., &; Hogan, Z. (2023). Hydropower dam development and fish biodiversity in the Mekong River Basin: A review. Water, 15, 1352.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w15071352
Brink, K., Gough, P., Royte, J., Schollema, P.P., &; Wanningen, H. (Eds.). (2018). From Sea to Source 2.0: Protection and restoration of fish migration in rivers worldwide (pp. 360). Groningen, The Netherlands: World Fish Migration Foundation.
Campbell, T., Pin, K., Ngor, P.B., &; Hogan, Z. (2020). Conserving Mekong megafishes: Current status and critical threats in Cambodia. Water.
Campbell, T., Onboundisane, S., Kong, H., &; Hogan, Z. (2023). A review of the conservation status and ecology of the giant freshwater whipray (Urogymnus polylepis) across its known distribution. Water, 15, 2487.
Chan, B., Sor, R., Ngor, P.B., Baehr, C., &; Lek, S. (2019). Modelling spatial and temporal dynamics of two small mud carp species in the Tonle Sap flood-pulse ecosystem. Ecological Modelling, 392, 82–91.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2018.11.007
Chan, B., Hogan, Z.S., Grant, M.I., Chhuoy, S., Chhut, C., Heng, K., &; Brosse, S. (2024). Rediscovery and future approaches to conservation of the elusive giant salmon carp (Aaptosyax grypus), a critically endangered megafish in the Mekong. Biological Conservation, 299, 110814.
Chan, B., Nut, S., Chhuoy, S., Chandra, S., &; Hogan, Z.S. (2024). First record of the Mekong arrowhead puffer (Pao suvattii) from Cambodia. Cambodian Journal of Natural History, 2, 91–94.
Chann, K., Sok, T., Khoeun, R., Men, V., Visessri, S., Oeurng, C., Sor, R., &; Null, S.E. (2022). Prolonged and severe drought in the most dammed tributaries of the Lower Mekong Basin. Sustainability, 14, 16254.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316254
Chevalier, M., Ngor, P.B., Pin, K., Touch, B., Lek, S., Grenouillet, G., &; Hogan, Z. (2023). Long-term data show alarming decline of majority of fish species in a lower Mekong basin fishery. Science of the Total Environment, 891, 164624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164624
Chhuoy, S., Hogan, Z.S., Chan, B., Chandra, S., Touch, B., Sor, R., Lek, S., &; Ngor, P.B. (2023). Declines in the Mekong’s megadiverse larval fish assemblages: Implications for sustainable development. Sustainability, 15,
13535. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813535
Chhuoy, S., Utsugi, K., Pin, K., Uy, S., Hogan, Z.S., Chandra, S., Chan, B., &; Ngor, P.B. (2024). First specimen-based record of blackskin catfish (Clarias meladerma) from the Mekong River basin. Cambodian Journal of Natural History, 1, 17–22.
Cowx, I. G., Vu, A. V., Hogan, Z., Mallen-Cooper, M., Baumgartner, L. J., Lai, T. Q., Grill, G., &; Sayer, C. A. (2024). Understanding the threats to fish migration: Applying the global swimways concept to the Lower Mekong. Reviews in Fisheries Science &; Aquaculture, 1–29.
https://doi.org/10.1080/23308249.2024.2401018
Deng, Q., Sabo, J.L., Holtgrieve, G.W., Ngor, P.B., &; Holway, J. (2023). Timing of hydrologic anomalies direct impacts on migration traits in a flood pulse fishery system. Journal of Applied Ecology.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14349
Deinet, S., Flint, R., Puleston, H., Baratech, A., Royte, J., Thieme, M. L., Nagy, S., Hogan, Z. S., Januchowski-Hartley, S., &; Wanningen, H. (2024). The Living Planet Index (LPI) for migratory freshwater fish 2024 update – Technical report. World Fish Migration Foundation.
Deinet, S., Scott-Gatty, K., Rotton, H., Twardek, W.M., Marconi, V., McRae, L., Baumgartner, L.J., Brink, K., Claussen, J.E., Cooke, S.J., Darwall, W., Eriksson, B.K., Garcia de Leaniz, C., Hogan, Z., Royte, J., Silva, L.G.M., Thieme, M.L., Tickner, D., Waldman, J., &; Berkhuysen, A. (2020). The Living Planet Index (LPI) for migratory freshwater fish - Technical report. World Fish Migration Foundation.
He, F., Zarfl, C., Bremerich, V., David, J.N., Hogan, Z., Kalinkat, G., Tockner, K., &; Jähnig, S.C. (2019). The global decline of freshwater megafauna. Global Change Biology, 25(11), 3883–3892.
He, F., Thieme, M., Zarfl, C., Grill, G., Lehner, B., Hogan, Z., Tockner, K., &; Jähnig, S.C. (2021). Impacts of loss of free-flowing rivers on global freshwater megafauna. Biological Conservation, 263, 109335.
Hogan, Z., &; Campbell, T. (2018). Fish and hydropower in the Lower Mekong Basin in Lao PDR. In Brink, K., Gough, P., Royte, J., Schollema, P.P., &; Wanningen, H. (Eds.), From Sea to Source 2.0: Protection and restoration of fish migration in rivers worldwide (pp. 360). Groningen, The Netherlands: World Fish Migration Foundation.
Hogan, Z., & Campbell, T. (2018). Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas). In Brink, K., Gough, P., Royte, J., Schollema, P.P., &; Wanningen, H. (Eds.), From Sea to Source 2.0: Protection and restoration of fish migration
in rivers worldwide (pp. 360). Groningen, The Netherlands: World Fish Migration Foundation.
Hogan, Z., &; Lovgren, S. (2023). Chasing Giants: In Search of the World’s Largest Freshwater Fish. Reno, NV, USA: University of Nevada Press. Jerde, C.L., Wilson, E.A., &; Dressler, T.L. (2019). Measuring global fish species richness with eDNA metabarcoding. Molecular Ecology Resources, 19(1), 19–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.12929
Jerde, C.L., Mahon, A.R., Campbell, T., McElroy, M.E., Pin, K.,
Childress, J.N., Armstrong, M.N., Zehnpfennig, J.R., Kelson, S.J.,
Koning, A.A., Ngor, P.B., Nuon, V., So, N., Chandra, S., &; Hogan, Z.S. (2021). Are genetic reference libraries sufficient for environmental DNA metabarcoding of Mekong River Basin fish? Water, 13(13), 1767.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131767
Kelson, S.J., Hogan, Z., Jerde, C.L., Chandra, S., Ngor, P.B., &; Koning, A. (2021). Fishing methods matter: Comparing the community and trait composition of the Dai (Bagnet) and gillnet fisheries in the Tonle Sap River. Water, 13(14), 1904. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13141904
Lohani, S., et al. (2020). Rapidly accelerating deforestation in Cambodia’s Mekong River Basin: A comparative analysis of spatial patterns and drivers. Water.
Loury, E.K., Elliott, V.L., Ainsley, S.M., Baird, I.G., Baumgartner, L.J., Chhuoy, S., Lee, D.J., Ngor, P.B., Touch, B., Vu, A.V., &; Hogan, Z.S. (2021). Priority knowledge needs for management of migratory fish species in Cambodia. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 28, 393–416.
https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12483
Loury, E.K., Jackman, C.E., Seat, L., Chea, S., Chhut, C., Kritsanavarin, S., Lovgren, S., Ramsay, E.G., Thao, D., &; Hogan, Z.S. (2021). Communicating for aquatic conservation in Cambodia and beyond: Lessons learned from in-person and media-based environmental education and outreach strategies. Water, 13(13), 1853.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131853
Lovgren, S. (2023). The Wonders of the Mekong project shows both the wonders and conservation challenges of the Mekong River. Fisheries, 48(7), 279–286.
Maasri, A., Jähnig, S.C., Adamescu, M.C., Adrian, R., Baigun, C., Baird, D.J., et al. (2021). A global agenda for advancing freshwater biodiversity research. Ecology Letters, 00, 1–9.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13931
McElroy, M.E., Armstrong, M.N., Childress, J.N., Pin, K., Jerde, C.L., Hogan, Z.S., et al. (2020). Calibrating environmental DNA metabarcoding to conventional surveys for measuring fish species richness. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
Naughton, G.P., Hogan, Z.S., Campbell, T., Graf, P.J., Farwell, C., &; Sukumasavin, N. (2021). Acoustic telemetry monitors movements of wild adult catfishes in the Mekong River, Thailand, and Laos. Water, 13(5), 641.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w13050641
Nava, V., Leoni, B., Arienzo, M. M., Hogan, Z. S., Gandolfi, I., Tatangelo, V., Carlson, E., Chea, S., Soum, S., Kozloski, R., &; Chandra, S. (2024). Plastic pollution affects ecosystem processes including community structure and functional traits in large rivers. Water Research, 259, 121849.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.121849
Ng, P.K.L., &; Chhuoy, S. (2023). A new species of furry crown crab, Limnopilos Chuang &; Ng, 1991 (Brachyura, Hymenosomatidae) from Tonle Sap, Cambodia. Crustaceana, 96(9), 885–895.
https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-bja10313
Ngor, P.B., Lek, S., McCann, K.S., &; Hogan, Z.S. (2018). Dams threaten world’s largest inland fishery. Nature, 563. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07304-1
Ngor, P.B., Sor, R., Prak, L.H., So, N., Hogan, Z.S., &; Lek, S. (2018). Mollusc fisheries and length–weight relationships in the Tonle Sap flood-pulse system, Cambodia. Annales de Limnologie - International Journal of Limnology, 34, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1051/limn/2018026
Ngor, P.B., Uy, S., Sor, R., Chan, B., Holway, J., Null, S.E., So, N.,
Grenouillet, G., Chandra, S., Hogan, Z., &; Lek, S. (2023). Predicting fish species richness and abundance in the Lower Mekong Basin. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11, 1–13.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1131142
Null, S.E., Farshid, A., Goodrum, G., Gray, C.A., Lohani, S., Morrisett, C.N., Prudencio, L., &; Sor, R. (2021). A meta-analysis of environmental tradeoffs of hydropower dams in the Sekong, Sesan, and Srepok (3S) rivers of the Lower Mekong Basin. Water, 13(1), 63.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w13010063
Sepulveda, A., Nelson, N., Luikart, G., Kalinowski, S., Garner, B., &; Null, S.E. (2020). Are environmental DNA methods ready for aquatic invasive species management? Trends in Ecology and Evolution.
Sor, R., Ngor, P.B., Lek, S., Chann, K., Khoeun, R., Chandra, S., Hogan, Z., &; Null, S.E. (2023). Fish biodiversity declines with dam development in the Lower Mekong Basin. Scientific Reports, 13, 8571.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35665-9
Sor, R., Ngor, P.B., Prudencio, L., Hogan, Z.S., &; Chandra, S. (2024). Factors influencing fish migration in one of the world’s largest inland fisheries. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
Sor, R., Ngor, P.B., Soum, S., Chandra, S., &; Null, S.E. (2021). Water quality degradation in the Lower Mekong Basin. Water, 13(11), 1555.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w13111555
Sor, R., Ngor, P. B., Boets, P., Goethals, P. L. M., Lek, S., Hogan, Z. S.,&; Park, Y.-S. (2020). Patterns of Mekong mollusc biodiversity: Identification of emerging threats and importance to management and livelihoods in a region of globally significant biodiversity and endemism. Water, 12(9), 2619.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w12092619
Soukhaphon, A., Baird, I.G., &; Hogan, Z.S. (2021). The impacts ofhydropower dams in the Mekong River Basin: A review. Water, 13(3), 265.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w13030265
Soum, S., Ngor, P.B., Dilts, T.E., Lohani, S., Kelson, S.J., Null, S.E.,
Tromboni, F., Hogan, Z.S., Chan, B., &; Chandra, S. (2021). Spatial and long-term temporal changes in water quality dynamics of the Tonle Sap ecosystem. Water, 13(15), 2059. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152059
Titcomb, G.C., Jerde, C.L., &; Young, H.S. (2019). High-throughput sequencing for understanding the ecology of emerging infectious diseases at the wildlife-human interface. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Tromboni, F., Dilts, T.E., Null, S.E., Lohani, S., Ngor, P.B., Soum, S., Hogan, Z.S., &; Chandra, S. (2021). Changing land use and population density are degrading water quality in the Lower Mekong Basin. Water, 13(14), 1948.
