Flow regime shapes seasonal patterns of fish species richness and abundance in main and branch channels of a rice irrigation system

Current modernization of an irrigation system degrades fish habitats in quantity and quality and is a significant concern for biodiversity conservation and management of ecosystem services in rice farming landscapes. Irrigation systems consist of various types of channels, whose hydrological and hydraulic heterogeneities can contribute to the coexistence of diverse fish species in this flooded habitat. We compared seasonal patterns of fish species richness and abundance between main and branch channels which have different functions in an irrigation system with different flow temporality and magnitude: the main channels (mean width 425 cm and mean discharge 0.467 m³/s in irrigation period) and the branch channels (176 cm and 0.115 m³/s, respectively). The branch channels are small and temporary, but densities of fish species richness and abundance were not smaller than the main channels during the irrigation period. Further, clear positive hysteretic loops in species richness and abundance with discharge were found in the branch channels, which indicates that fish species richness and abundance gradually increased with discharge during this hydroperiod. Water velocity strongly constrained species richness and abundance in the main channels but not in the branch channels partially because of slow-flow patches at microhabitat scale with a larger vegetation coverage. We also found that the main channels provided deeper habitats in the non-irrigation period and contributed to maintain fish species richness and abundance. Therefore, managing both the main and branch channels as an indispensable, interconnected channel network can be a key for fish habitat conservation in an irrigation system.