Background To rehabilitate the depleted fish resources of the Yangtze River Basin,China,a 10-year fishing ban has been implemented.This national initiative has attracted worldwide attention.The present study aimed to ...Background To rehabilitate the depleted fish resources of the Yangtze River Basin,China,a 10-year fishing ban has been implemented.This national initiative has attracted worldwide attention.The present study aimed to explore the ecological process and recovery effectiveness of this complete fishing ban in the Chishui River,the first river where the fishing ban was enacted in the Yangtze River Basin.Changes in fish resources were analyzed based on investigations conducted 5 years before(2012–2016)and 5 years after(2017–2021)the implementation of the fish-ing ban in four reaches along the longitudinal gradient.Results A total of 140 fish species,including 127 native and 13 exotic species,were collected during the study period.The number of fish species as well as the diversity indices showed no significant temporal changes.However,11 native species that had disappeared for many years appeared again after the fishing ban.The occurrence rates of some key protected species,Procypris rabaudi,Acipenser dabryanus,Euchiloglanis davidi and Myxocyprinus asiaticus,increased after the fishing ban,while Coreius guichenoti,Percocypris pingi,Onychostoma angustistomata and Leptobotia rubrilabris showed no obvious recovery.The fish assemblage structure in nearly all reaches(except the headwater)showed significant temporal changes with an increase in the relative abundance of larger body-sized species.The population structure of most dominant species improved greatly with the mean standard length and the mean body weight as well as the proportion of larger-sized individuals clearly increasing.In addition,the density of fishes changed dramatically with the catch per unit effort(CPUE)increasing by 140–210%for different study reaches.Conclusions The present study confirmed that the complete fishing closure is an effective measure to facilitate fish resources recovery.These results provide valuable references for evaluating the effectiveness of the 10-year fishing ban policy in the entire Yangtze River.展开更多
Although China has established more than 600 wetland nature reserves, conservation gaps still exist for many species, especially for freshwater fishes. Underlying this problem is the fact that top-level planning is mi...Although China has established more than 600 wetland nature reserves, conservation gaps still exist for many species, especially for freshwater fishes. Underlying this problem is the fact that top-level planning is missing in the construction of nature reserves. To promote the development of nature reserves for fishes, this study took the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin(MLYRB) as an example to carry out top-level reserve network planning for fishes using approaches of systematic conservation planning. Typical fish species living in freshwater habitats were defined and considered in the planning. Based on sample data collected from large quantities of literatures, continuous distribution patterns of 142 fishes were obtained with species distribution modeling and subsequent processing, and the distributions of another eleven species were artificially designated. With the distribution pattern of species, Marxan was used to carry out conservation planning. To obtain ideal solutions with representativeness, persistence, and efficiency, parameters were set with careful consideration regarding existing wetland reserves, human disturbances, hydrological connectivity, and representation targets of species. Marxan produced the selection frequency of planning units(PUs) and a best solution. Selection frequency indicates the relative protection importance of a PU. The best solution is a representative of ideal fish reserve networks. Both of the PUs with high selection frequency and those in the best solution have low proportions included in existing wetland nature reserves, suggesting that there are significant conservation gaps for fish species in MLYRB. The best solution could serve as a reference for establishing a fish reserve network in the MLYRB. There is great flexibility for replacing selected PUs in the solution, and such flexibility facilitates the implementation of the solution in reality in case of unexpected obstacles. Further, we suggested adopting a freshwater management framework in the implementation of such solution.展开更多
基金supported by Grants from the National Key Research&Development Program of China(2022FY100400,2022YFB3206905)the National Key Research&Development Program of Yunnan Province(202203AC100001)the China Three Gorges Corporation(BHQ202305).
文摘Background To rehabilitate the depleted fish resources of the Yangtze River Basin,China,a 10-year fishing ban has been implemented.This national initiative has attracted worldwide attention.The present study aimed to explore the ecological process and recovery effectiveness of this complete fishing ban in the Chishui River,the first river where the fishing ban was enacted in the Yangtze River Basin.Changes in fish resources were analyzed based on investigations conducted 5 years before(2012–2016)and 5 years after(2017–2021)the implementation of the fish-ing ban in four reaches along the longitudinal gradient.Results A total of 140 fish species,including 127 native and 13 exotic species,were collected during the study period.The number of fish species as well as the diversity indices showed no significant temporal changes.However,11 native species that had disappeared for many years appeared again after the fishing ban.The occurrence rates of some key protected species,Procypris rabaudi,Acipenser dabryanus,Euchiloglanis davidi and Myxocyprinus asiaticus,increased after the fishing ban,while Coreius guichenoti,Percocypris pingi,Onychostoma angustistomata and Leptobotia rubrilabris showed no obvious recovery.The fish assemblage structure in nearly all reaches(except the headwater)showed significant temporal changes with an increase in the relative abundance of larger body-sized species.The population structure of most dominant species improved greatly with the mean standard length and the mean body weight as well as the proportion of larger-sized individuals clearly increasing.In addition,the density of fishes changed dramatically with the catch per unit effort(CPUE)increasing by 140–210%for different study reaches.Conclusions The present study confirmed that the complete fishing closure is an effective measure to facilitate fish resources recovery.These results provide valuable references for evaluating the effectiveness of the 10-year fishing ban policy in the entire Yangtze River.
基金supported by fund of State Forestry Administration of China-United Nations Development Program/Global Environment Facility(83911 NP-2014-007)
文摘Although China has established more than 600 wetland nature reserves, conservation gaps still exist for many species, especially for freshwater fishes. Underlying this problem is the fact that top-level planning is missing in the construction of nature reserves. To promote the development of nature reserves for fishes, this study took the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin(MLYRB) as an example to carry out top-level reserve network planning for fishes using approaches of systematic conservation planning. Typical fish species living in freshwater habitats were defined and considered in the planning. Based on sample data collected from large quantities of literatures, continuous distribution patterns of 142 fishes were obtained with species distribution modeling and subsequent processing, and the distributions of another eleven species were artificially designated. With the distribution pattern of species, Marxan was used to carry out conservation planning. To obtain ideal solutions with representativeness, persistence, and efficiency, parameters were set with careful consideration regarding existing wetland reserves, human disturbances, hydrological connectivity, and representation targets of species. Marxan produced the selection frequency of planning units(PUs) and a best solution. Selection frequency indicates the relative protection importance of a PU. The best solution is a representative of ideal fish reserve networks. Both of the PUs with high selection frequency and those in the best solution have low proportions included in existing wetland nature reserves, suggesting that there are significant conservation gaps for fish species in MLYRB. The best solution could serve as a reference for establishing a fish reserve network in the MLYRB. There is great flexibility for replacing selected PUs in the solution, and such flexibility facilitates the implementation of the solution in reality in case of unexpected obstacles. Further, we suggested adopting a freshwater management framework in the implementation of such solution.
