Effects of Different Feeding Patterns on the Growth of Micropterus salmoides

Three experimental groups with different feeding frequencies,different feeding rates and compensatory feeding were set up to study their effects on the growth of Micropterus salmoides.The results showed that different feeding rates of 2%,3%and 4%had no significant effects on the growth of M.salmoides.Therefore,before the individual weight of 50 g,the fish could be fed with a feeding rate of 4%,which could be gradually decreased to 2%in the later period.Under the condition of relatively fixed feeding rate,different feeding frequencies had an impact on the growth of M.salmoides.Under the conditions of suitable water temperature,it is reasonable to feed twice daily.The experimental fish fed for 5 d and then deprived of feed for 1 d showed fully compensatory growth,and there were no significant differences in weight gain rate,daily weight gain and specific growth rate compared with the continuous feeding group(P>0.05).Therefore,according to the feeding conditions of fish in the breeding process,stopping feeding for 1 d every 5 d could save feed and labor and improve breeding efficiency.

Comparative analysis and phylogenetic and evolutionary implications of mitogenomes of Chinese Sinocyclocheilus cavefish(Cypriniformes:Cyprinidae)

DEAR EDITOR,Cavefish are of considerable interest due to the remarkable morphological changes that occurred during their adaptation to cave or subterranean river habitats.These changes are thought to involve trade-offs in metabolic requirements and energy utilization.Mitochondria play a vital role in oxygen use and energy metabolism;thus,mitochondrial genes are likely to have experienced specific selective pressures during cavefish evolution.In this study,we assembled and annotated the mitogenome of Sinocyclocheilus sanxiaensis,a typical cavefish species in China.Using this sequence and other available mitogenomes from the NCBI database,we reconstructed an updated phylogeny of Sinocyclocheilus based on 29 species.Five species groups were revealed,with the recently erected S.microphthalmus species group supported.To determine whether divergent selective pressures have acted on the protein-coding genes(PCGs)of the 29 Sinocyclocheilus species exhibiting different morphological features(including eye shape and body color),the fish were classified into three groups according to their cave-related traits.The branch model test revealed higher nonsynonymous/synonymous substitution ratios(ω)in the cave-dwelling groups,potentially resulting from a balance between adaptive selection and relaxed functional constraints.Sophisticated analysis using site and branch-site models identified 24 highly credible positive selection sites located on nine PCGs,with most sites also showing radical changes in amino acid properties.This study sheds light on the phylogeny and mitogenomic evolution of Sinocyclocheilus cavefish,highlighting their successful adaptation and survival in subterranean environments.

Sinocyclocheilus sanxiaensis, a new blind fish from the Three Gorges of Yangtze River provides insights into speciation of Chinese cavefish

DEAR EDITOR,A blind fish of Sinocyclocheilus (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae)was caught in open water in the Three Gorges (Sanxia)reservoir, at a depth of 20 m in the mainstream of YangtzeRiver in Zigui County, Hubei Province, China. This fish can beeasily distinguished from all other congeners by externalmorphological characteristics, and is estimated to havediverged from its sister group about 0.55 million years ago(Ma). The geologically well separated locality of this specieshas expanded the distribution of Sinocyclocheilus cavefishfrom around N25°(latitude) to above N30°. Herein, wedescribe this new species as Sinocyclocheilus sanxiaensis sp.nov., and discuss the possible reasons why the speciesappears, surprisingly, in the Three Gorges reservoir.

Status of aquatic organisms resources and their environments in Yangtze River system(2017-2021)⋆

The Yangtze River is the mother river of China.To promote the aquatic ecosystem protection of the great river,the Project of Yangtze Fisheries Resources and Environment Investigation(2017-2021)supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,P.R.China carried out by 24 institutes and universities that located in the Yangtze River basin surveys the status of(1)fish species composition and spatial distribution,(2)current fish abundance,(3)endangered fishes,(4)Yangtze finless porpoise,(5)aquatic eco-environments,(6)water-level fluctuation areas,(7)capture fisheries and recreational fisheries of the Yangtze River mainstream and 10 of its main tributaries,including Yalong River,Heng River,Min River(including Dadu River),Chishui River,Tuo River,Jialing River,Wu River,Han River,Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake.The results showed that there were 443 fish species(belonging to 163 genus,37 families,and 18 orders)before 2017,but only 323 fish species(including 15 new recorded exotic species)were recorded in the project of 2017-2021.Among them,Cyprinus carpio,Carassius auratus,Hypophthalmichthys molitrix,Pelteobagrus fulvidraco,Coilia brachygnathus,Silurus asotus,Saurogobio dabryi,Ctenopharyngodon idellus,Pelteobagrus nitidus,Hemiculter leucisculus,Siniperca chuatsi,Coreius heterodon,Culter alburnus,Parabramis pekinensis,and Aristichthys nobilis were the dominant species across the whole Yangtze River system.It is estimated that there were 886 million individuals weighing 124.8 million kg,merely equivalent to 27.3%of the resources in 1950s,30.9%of the resources in 1960s,or 58.7%of the resources in 1980s.In the new list of protected fishes that recorded in the Yangtze River system,only 15 of 29 were collected in this project of 2017-2021.Psephurus gladius has been affirmed to be Extinct by International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN).The wild individuals of Tenualosa reevesii and Luciobrama macrocephalus have disappeared for many years and maybe have been extinct already.Acipenser dabryanus has been affirmed to be Extinct in the Wild by IUCN.The natural propagations of A.sinensis,Myxocyprinus asiaticus and Trachidermus fasciatus have been interrupted for many years.The populations of Yangtze finless porpoise in the Yangtze River mainstream,Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake have steadily rising sizes and expanding distributions in 2017-2021.Parts of them migrate from one region to another with the seasons,which would result in the fluctuation of Yangtze finless porpoise population within some regions.The conventional indicators of water quality in the Yangtze River system were good and conformed to the water quality criteria of fishery in 2017-2021.In the last 40 years,the maximum surface water area in the Yangtze River basin extended to approximately 63,360 km2,the minimum surface water area covered approximately 26,396 km2,and the seasonal water-level fluctuation areas occupied approximately 36,964 km2.Compared with 1984-2000 period,the 2001-2020 period witnessed an overall decreasing trend in the frequency of surface water occurrence within about 25,869 km2 of aquatic areas.From 1984 to 2000 period to 2001-2020 period,permanent surface water has decreased by nearly 8,750 km2.In 2017,the fishermen were mainly 40-60 years old and their educational levels were mainly lower than junior high school.In 2017,most anglers were older than 40 and used hand rod and/or sea rod.Their average catch of each time was mainly less than 1 kg.Results suggested that the fishing ban in key waters of the Yangtze River basin is not only an ecological project of aquatic ecosystem conservation,but also a livelihood project for the fisherman to embrace industrial transformation and improve their living conditions.After the implementation of the fishing ban,the fisheries resources would gradually recover,and the Yangtze finless porpoise population size would also see a steady increase.However,the endangered species would remain threatened for a long time.The degraded waterbodies and water-level fluctuation areas would be the key restrictive factors for future aquatic ecosystem recovery in the Yangtze River basin.Since this survey was carried out before the fishing ban,the current results could provide a baseline for future evaluation of the effect of the Yangtze River fishing ban.