1. Seleznev D. G.
   
   Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
2. Dinh Cu Nguyen
   
   Southern Branch of the Joint Russia-Vietnam Tropical Science and Technology Research Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (vnm)
3. Hai Truong Ba
   
   Southern Branch of the Joint Russia-Vietnam Tropical Science and Technology Research Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (vnm)
4. Карпова Е. П. (Karpova E. P.)
5. Kim Chi Duong Thi
   
   Southern Branch of the Joint Russia-Vietnam Tropical Science and Technology Research Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (vnm)
6. Kosolapov D. B.
   
   Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
7. Kosolapova N. G.
   
   Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
8. Malin M. I.
   
   Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
9. Malina I. P.
   
   Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
10. Man Le Quang
    
    Southern Branch of the Joint Russia-Vietnam Tropical Science and Technology Research Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (ru)
11. Prokin A. A.
    
    Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
12. Прусова И. Ю. (Prusova I. Yu.)
13. Sharov A. N.
    
    Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
14. Статкевич С. В. (Statkevich S. V.)
15. Tsvetkov A. I.
    
    Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
16. Udodenko Yu. G.
    
    Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
17. Zakonnov V. V.
    
    Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
18. Zhdanova S. M.
    
    Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
19. Krylov A. V.
    
    Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl region, Russia (ru)
20. Tiunov A. V.
    
    A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia (ru)

Background

The Mekong River is the 10th largest river in the world. It is recognised as the most productive river in Southeast Asia and economically essential to the region, with an estimated 60-65 million people living in the lower Mekong Basin. The Mekong Delta within Vietnam is considered a highly vulnerable ecosystem under threat from increasing anthropogenic pressure, such as dam construction and, as a consequence, the Delta is sinking and altering the natural hydrological cycle. Dams also lead to eutrophication and pollution of downstream water from regulated water flux and water stagnation. Another threat is climate change coupled with the lower rainfall, which could lead to an increased risk of drought in the Mekong Delta Basin. Thus, these project data represent an important baseline reference. The ecological health of the Mekong Delta’s environment, as indicated by the quality and availability of its water and biological resources, largely determines the economic and social development of the region, which produces about half of the agriculture and aquaculture products of Vietnam.

New information

This paper reports quantitative data on the biodiversity of six groups of aquatic organisms: bottom and pelagic fish, macrozoobenthos, microorganisms, phyto- and zooplankton in the Mekong Delta within Vietnam, as well as data on the physicochemical parameters of water and bottom sediments. The data were collected during 2018-2022 as part of the Ecolan E-3.4 programme within the framework of the research plan of the Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center. All presented datasets are published for the first time.