Dẫn liệu về côn trùng nước ở suối Séo Mý Tỷ và suối Nậm Cang thuộc vườn quốc gia Hoàng Liên, Tỉnh Lào Cai, Việt Nam

 ISSN: 1859-2171 
e-ISSN: 2615-9562 
TNU Journal of Science and Technology 202(09): 9 - 14 
 Email: jst@tnu.edu.vn 9 
DATA ON AQUATIC INSECTS IN THE SEO MY TY AND NAM CANG 
STREAMS, HOANG LIEN NATIONAL PARK, LAO CAI PROVINCE, VIET NAM 
Nguyen Van Hieu
1*
, Dinh Thi Hai Yen
2 
1Hanoi Pedagogical University 2, 
2College of Sciences, Massey University, New Zealand 
ABSTRACT 
The aims of this study are to show the data on faunas and communities of aquatic insects in the 
Seo My Ty Stream in Ta Van Commune and the Nam Cang Stream in Nam Cang Commune in the 
Hoang Lien National Park, Lao Cai Province. Ta Van Commune belonging to the core area of the 
National Park, while Nam Cang Commune is located in the buffer area of the Natinal Park. In this 
study, we collected aquatic insects at 6 sampling sites in January 2018 and August 2018. 
Specimens were collected both quantitatively by a Surber net (mesh size 250 μm, with acreage 0.1 
m
2
) and qualitatively using hand nets and pond nets. As a result, a total of 141 aquatic insect 
species belonging to 108 genera, 50 families and 9 orders were recognized. Among these, the 
order Ephemeroptera had the highest species number with 64 species, followed by Trichoptera 
with 32 species, Diptera with 13 species, Coleoptera with 10 species, Plecoptera with 8 species, 
Odonata with 7 species, Hemiptera with 4 species. Lepidoptera with 2 species and Megaloptera 
had the lowest of species number, only 1 species. Besides, the results from quantitative analysis 
and the functional feeding groups were provided. 
Keywords: aquatic insects; Hoang Lien National Park; qualitative analysis; quantitative analysis 
Received: 15/4/2019; Revised: 02/6/2019; Published: 16/6/2019 
DẪN LIỆU VỀ CÔN TRÙNG NƯỚC Ở SUỐI SÉO MÝ TỶ VÀ SUỐI NẬM CANG 
THUỘC VƯỜN QUỐC GIA HOÀNG LIÊN, TỈNH LÀO CAI, VIỆT NAM 
Nguyễn Văn Hiếu1*, Đinh Thị Hải Yến2
1 Trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội 2, 
2 Trường Khoa học, Đại học Massey, New Zealand 
TÓM TẮT 
Kết quả phân tích mẫu vật côn trùng nước thu được tại 6 điểm nghiên cứu khác nhau bằng lưới 
Surber (kích thước mắt lưới 250 μm, diện tích thu mẫu 0,1 m2) với mẫu định lượng và vợt tay, vợt 
ao với mẫu định tính ở suối Séo Mý Tỷ và suối Nậm Cang thuộc Vườn quốc gia Hoàng Liên, tỉnh 
Lào Cai trong đợt thu mẫu tháng 01/2018 và tháng 8/2018 đã xác định được 141 loài thuộc 108 
giống và 50 họ của 9 bộ côn trùng nước. Trong đó bộ Phù du có số lượng loài lớn nhất với 64 loài, 
tiếp theo là bộ Cánh lông với 32 loài, bộ Hai cánh có 13 loài, bộ Cánh cứng có 10 loài, bộ Cánh úp 
có 8 loài, bộ Chuồn chuồn có 7 loài, bộ Cánh nửa có 4 loài. Hai bộ Cánh vảy và Cánh rộng có số 
lượng loài ít nhất, mỗi bộ lần lượt là 1 và 2 loài. Các kết quả phân tích định lượng cũng như các 
nhóm dinh dưỡng chức năng cũng được trình bày trong nghiên cứu này. 
Từ khóa: côn trùng nước; Vườn Quốc gia Hoàng Liên; phân tích định tính; phân tích định lượng 
Ngày nhận bài: 15/4/2019; Ngày hoàn thiện: 02/6/2019; Ngày đăng: 16/6/2019 
* Corresponding author. Email: nguyenvanhieusp2@gmail.com
Nguyễn Văn Hiếu và Đtg Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ ĐHTN 202(09): 9 - 14 
 Email: jst@tnu.edu.vn 10 
1. Introduction 
Aquatic insects, the most diverse group of 
organisms in freshwater bodies, are integral 
part of the aquatic ecosystem, having both 
ecological and economical value. They may 
be considered as model organisms in 
analyzing the structure and function of the 
freshwater ecosystem because of their high 
abundance, high birth rate with short 
generation time, large biomass and rapid 
colonization in freshwater habitats. 
The Hoang Lien National Park located in the 
Northwest of Viet Nam has 28,477 ha of the 
core area and 38,724 ha of the buffer area. 
The Park is covered mainly by a primary 
forest which has mountainous tropical 
vegetation and diversified stream system. 
There are favorable conditions for the 
survival and growth of aquatic organisms, 
especially of the aquatic insects. However, the 
actual make up of the fauna inhabiting these 
regions has not been fully investigated. Sang 
Woo Jung et al. (2008) studied aquatic insects 
faunas and communities in the Muong Hoa 
Stream, a mountain stream in Sa Pa highland, 
flows through San Sa Ho, Ta Van and Ban Ho 
Communes [1]. Nguyen Van Hieu and 
Nguyen Van Vinh (2015) [2] studied the 
population of Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) in 
the buffer area of the Hoang Lien National 
Park. Their samples were collected from the 
Nam Cang Stream, Nam Sai Commune and 
Ngoi Bo Stream, Sa Pa Commune. However, 
aquatic insects communities in the Seo My Ty 
Stream in Ta Van Commune and Nam Cang 
Stream in Nam Cang Commune have not yet 
been studied. Therefore, we investigated aquatic 
insect communities in these two streams. 
2. Materials and methods 
2.1. Materials: The species belonging to 
aquatic insects were collected at 6 sampling 
sites in January 2018 and August 2018. Six 
samples were taken from the Seo My Ty Stream 
and Nam Cang Stream, Hoang Lien National 
Park, Lao Cai Province. Three sites (St1-St3) 
were at the Nam Cang Stream, and three sites 
(St4-St6) were at the Seo My Ty Stream. 
2.2. Methods: Samples were collected 
following to the methods of McCafferty 
(1983) [3], Merritt & Cummins (1996) [4] 
and Nguyen (2003) [5]. Qualitative samples 
were collected using pond nets and hand 
nets, while quantitative samples were 
collected using a Surber net (mesh size 250 
μm, 0.1 m2 area), with five replicated at 
each site. 
Samples were preserved in 80% ethanol and 
analyzed in the Laboratory of Zoology, 
Faculty of Biology - Agricultural Technology, 
Hanoi Pedagogical University 2. 
Aquatic insects were identified to the species 
level or lowest taxonomic categories, based 
on the published identification keys, e. g. 
Nguyen (2003) [5], Morse et al. (1994) [6], 
Dudgeon (1999) [7], Narumon & Boonsoong 
(2004) [8], Chen et al. (2005) [9], Hoang 
(2005) [10], Jacobus & McCafferty (2008) 
[11], Cao (2008) [12] and Webb & 
McCafferty (2008) [13]. 
2.3. Data analysis: Data from qualitative and 
quantitative samples were used to calculate 
three diversity indices: McNaughton’s 
dominance index (DI), Margalef’s richness 
index (d) and Shannon-Weiver species 
diversity index (H’). Data from quantitative 
samples were used to perform the cluster 
algorithm (Bray-Curtis similarity index group 
average clustering algorithm) of six studied 
sites. Functional feeding groups (FFGs) were 
classified mainly according to Merritt & 
Cummins (1996) [4]. The number of 
individuals in each FFG was then used to 
study the composition of FFGs in the two 
streams studied. 
Data analysis were processed in Microsoft 
Office Excel
®
 2007 software from Microsoft 
Corporation
®
 and Primer V.6 from Primer
®
-
E
TM
 Ltd, UK. 
Nguyễn Văn Hiếu và Đtg Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ ĐHTN 202(09): 9 - 14 
 Email: jst@tnu.edu.vn 11 
3. Results and discussion 
3.1. Species biodiversity of aquatic insects in the studied area 
There were 141 recored species belonging to 108 genera, 50 families and 9 orders of aquatic 
insects (Table 1). 
Table 1. Number of aquatic insect taxa in the studied area 
Orders 
Families Genera Species 
Number % Number % Number % 
Ephemeroptera 8 16.00 32 29.63 64 45.39 
Odonata 6 12.00 7 6.48 7 4.96 
Plecoptera 2 4.00 8 7.42 8 5.67 
Hemiptera 2 4.00 4 3.71 4 2.84 
Coleoptera 5 10.00 10 9.26 10 7.09 
Megaloptera 1 2.00 1 0.92 1 0.72 
Diptera 9 18.00 13 12.03 13 9.22 
Lepidoptera 2 4.00 2 1.85 2 1.42 
Trichoptera 15 30.00 31 28.70 32 22.69 
Total 50 100 108 100 141 100 
Table 2. The average numbers of species, density and biodiversity indices of aquatic insects per 0.5m
2
 in 
the studied area 
Sites No. of species No. of individuals DI d H' 
St1 70 560 0.14 10.90 5.34 
St2 60 787 0.28 8.55 4.53 
St3 55 526 0.16 8.62 4.94 
St4 37 355 0.37 6.13 3.99 
St5 45 650 0.39 6.79 4.14 
St6 35 179 0.32 6.55 4.27 
Mean ± SD 50.33 ± 13.74 509.50 ± 215.72 0.28 ± 0.11 7.92 ± 1.80 4.54 ± 0.52 
The dominance of the order Ephemeroptera 
and Trichoptera suggested that the two 
studied streams are overall in good stream 
health. However, our finding showed that the 
number of aquatic insect species recorded in 
the Seo My Ty Stream and Nam Cang Stream 
belonging to Hoang Lien National Park was 
smaller than those from othernational parks in 
Vietnam. Aquatic insect fauna in the Thac 
Bac Stream of the Tam Dao National Park in 
northern Vietnam has 145 species, 127 genera 
and 63 families (Nguyen et al., 2001) [14], 
the DakPri Stream in southern Vietnam has 
268 species, 230 genera and 91 families 
(Hoang & Bae, 2006) [15]. Additionally, the 
number of aquatic insect species in the Nam 
Cang Stream and the Seo My Stream was also 
smaller than that in the Muong Hoa Stream 
(216 species, 139 genera and 61 families) 
even though these three streams are both 
located in the Hoang Lien National Park 
(Jung et al., 2008) [1]. The reason for this 
might be due to either differences in local 
stream habitats between our studied streams 
and their stream or the potential negative 
effects of the local economic development 
during the past nine years. Further studies are 
needed to confirm our proposed reasons. 
The range (mean ± standard deviation) of 
McNaughton’s dominance index (DI), 
Margalef’s richness index (d) and Shannon-
Weiver species diversity index (H’) were 
0.14-0.39 (0.28 ± 0.11); 6.13-10.90 (7.92 ± 
1.80) and 3.99-5.34 (4.54 ± 0.52), 
respectively (Table 2). 
3.2. Community structure of aquatic insects 
in the studied area 
The quantitative sampling resulted in a total 
of 3.057 individuals. Three major aquatic 
insect groups were dominated Ephemeroptera 
Nguyễn Văn Hiếu và Đtg Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ ĐHTN 202(09): 9 - 14 
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with 1.281 individuals (41.90%). Trichoptera 
with 792 individuals (25.91%), Diptera with 
517 individuals (16.91%), Coleoptera with 
270 individuals (8.83%), Plecoptera with 81 
individuals (2.65%), Odonata with 67 
individuals (2.2%), Hemiptera with 41 
individuals (1.34%), Megaloptera with 7 
individuals (0.23%) and Lepidoptera with 1 
individual (0.03%). 
The Bray-Curtis similarity matrix indicated 
that the three sites from Nam Cang Stream 
can be grouped together, in which St1 and St3 
had higher similarity (48.99%) than with St2. 
The highest similarity was found in between 
St4 and St5 (54.53%) in the Seo My Ty 
Stream; whereas the lowest similarity was 
seen in between St6 in the Seo My Ty Stream 
and the five other sites (Figure 1). 
Figure 1. The cluster dendrogram of six studied sites using the Bray-Curtis similarity 
In order to reconstruct the functional feeding groups (FFGs) structure of the aquatic insect 
communities in the studied area, the data obtained from quantitative sampling were analyzed. 
The results showed that the collector-gatherers represented the largest portion (32.16%); followed 
by scrapers (28.63%); predators (19.32%); collector-filterers (10.53%) and shredders (9.36%) 
(Fig. 2). 
Figure 2. Percentages of species number (%) of FFGs in the studied area 
Nguyễn Văn Hiếu và Đtg Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ ĐHTN 202(09): 9 - 14 
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The dominance of collector-gatherers, which 
feed on FPOM (Fine Particulate Organic 
Matter) from the stream bottom, suggested 
the importance ofter restrial inputs of organic 
matter as the main organic energy source in 
these forest streams. Interestingly, shedders, 
which consume leaf litter or other CPOM 
(Coarse Particulate Organic Matter) including 
wood and nonwoody material, only 
contributed a small portion (9.36%); whereas 
obligate shredders are generally common in 
small forest Northern Hemisphere streams 
due to the dominance of littler in the food 
base of stream communities (Winterbourn et 
al., 1981 [16]; Winterbourn, 1997 [17]). The 
inconsistence between our finding and the 
common pattern in other streams may be due 
to the classification of FFGs which was based 
on the study of Merritt & Cummins (1996) 
from North America streams [4]. Many 
stream invertebrates are believed to feed on a 
wide range of foods; therefore, the category 
of their trophic or functional terms might be 
partly depended on where they are found. For 
example, collector-gatherers can consume 
both detritus and algae, a shift from detritus to 
algae in their dietsis normally found at sites 
where the forest canopy is lost (Winterbourn, 
2000) 0. It is, therefore, necessary to modify 
the classification of Merritt & Cummins 
(1996) to reflect more accurate functional 
feeding groups of aquatic insects in 
Vietnamese streams [4]. 
4. Conclusion 
In this study, we recoreded a total number of 
120 species belonging to 96 genera, 46 
families and 9 orders of aquatic insect in Seo 
My Ty and Nam Cang stream, including 48 
species of Ephemeroptera, 29 species of 
Trichoptera, 12 species of Diptera, 10 species 
of Coleoptera, 8 species of Plecoptera, 7 
species of Odonata, 4 species of Hemiptera 
and 1 species each of Lepidoptera and 
Megaloptera. 
The quantitative sampling resulted in a total 
3.057 individuals of aquatic insects: 
Ephemeroptera is the highest in number with 
1.281 individuals (41.90%). Trichoptera with 
792 individuals (25.91%), Diptera with 517 
individuals (16.91%), Coleoptera with 270 
individuals (8.83%), Plecoptera with 81 
individuals (2.65%), Odonata with 67 
individuals (2.2%), Hemiptera with 41 
individuals (1.34%), Megaloptera with 7 
individuals (0.23%) and Lepidoptera with 1 
individual (0.03%). The median and standard 
deviance of McNaughton’s dominance index 
(DI) were 0.28 ± 0.11, Margalef’s richness 
index (d) were 7.92 ± 1.80 and Shannon-Weiver 
species diversity index (H’) were 4.54 ± 0.52. 
For the FFGs, the collector-gatherers 
dominated with 32.16% of total number of 
individual, followed by scrapers with 28.63%, 
predators with 19.32%, collector-filterers with 
10.53% and shredders with 9.36%. 
Acknowledgements 
We thank the staffs from Hoang Lien 
National Park for providing help during our 
fieldtrip. We are grateful to Nguyen Quang 
Huy, Nguyen Lam Tung and Than Van Hung 
for field assistance. 
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