Spatial distribution and introduction pathways of non-native freshwater fish species in China

Non-native freshwater fish species are regarded as a key factor responsible for the degradation of freshwater ecosystems.Although research on China's non-native freshwater fish species has been conducted at the national scale,the spatial distribution and introduction pathways of these species in China remain unclear.To address this knowledge gap,this study compiled a dataset of non-native freshwater fish species across administrative regions in China.We first assessed the number of non-native freshwater fish species by taxonomy,geographical origin,introduction pathway,and province.There were 177 non-native freshwater fish species,belonging to 17 orders,48 families,and 118 genera.The orders Cypriniformes(33.3%),Perciformes(28.2%),Siluriformes(10.2%),and Salmoniformes(6.2%)accounted for the largest proportion of non-native freshwater fish species.Eighty-nine nonnative species were introduced from other countries or regions,mostly from North America(31 species;34.8%),Asia(20 species;22.5%),Africa(13 species;14.6%),Europe(11 species;12.4%),and South America(10 species;11.2%).Aquaculture was the most common introduction pathway.Non-native freshwater fish species were more widely distributed in southwest China.Our study showed that there were obvious differences in the number and composition of non-native freshwater fish species across various provinces in China.The variation in the number of non-native freshwater fish species across provinces in China was attributed to distinct geographical features,development of the aquaculture industry,and efforts to study non-native freshwater fish species.Therefore,comprehensive surveys and studies of non-native freshwater fish species are needed,which are of great importance for the management and control of non-native species invasions.

A method for custom measurement of fish dimensions using the improved YOLOv5-keypoint framework with multi-attention mechanisms

Dimensional data directly reflects the growth rate of individual fish,an important economic trait of interest to fish researchers.Efficiently obtaining large-scale fish dimension data would be valuable for both selective breeding and production.To address this,our study proposes a custom dimension measurement method for fish using the YOLOv5-keypoint framework with multi-attention mechanisms.We optimized the YOLOv5 framework,incorporated the SimAM attention mechanism to achieve more accurate and faster fish detection,and added customizable landmarks to the network structure,enabling flexible configuration of the number and location of feature points in the training dataset.This method is applicable to various aquacultural species and other objects.We tested the effectiveness of the method using the economically important grass carp(Ctenopharyngodon idella).The proposed method outperforms pure YOLOv5,Faster R-CNN,and SSD in terms of precision and recall rates,achieving an impressive average precision of 0.9781.Notably,field trials confirmed the method's exceptional measurement accuracy,exceeding 97%compatibility with manual measurements,while demonstrating a realtime speed of 38 frames per second on the NVIDIA RTX A4000.This enables efficient and accurate large-scale surface dimension measurements of economic fish.To facilitate massive measurements in agricultural research,we have implemented this method as an online platform,called Mode-recognition Ruler(MrRuler,http://bioinf o.ihb.ac.cn/mrruler).The platform identifies objects in a single image at an average speed of 0.486±0.005 s,based on a dataset of 10,000 images.MrRuler includes two preset carp models and allows users to upload training datasets for custom models of their targets of interest.

From source to lake:Multi‒taxon alpha and beta diversity patterns along a river above 4500 m AMSL on the Qinghai‒Tibetan Plateau

Understanding the distribution of species is highly important for optimizing future conservation priorities and strategies at the regional scale.Relatively little attention has been given to multi-taxon aquatic biota in extreme alpine environments.We examined the spatial and temporal patterns of alpha and beta diversity,site-specific contributions to beta diversity and assembly mechanisms of four taxonomic groups(fishes,macroinvertebrates,zooplankton and phytoplankton)from the source to the estuary of the Za'gya Zangbo River above 4500 m AMSL(above mean sea level)on the northern Qinghai-Tibetan(Q–T)Plateau.A total of 4 fish species,45 macroinvertebrate taxa,17 zooplankton taxa and 56 phytoplankton taxa were found in the study area.No consistent patterns in taxonomic richness were observed across taxa from upstream to estuary.The fish communities had the lowest dissimilarity between communities,the phytoplankton community had the highest dissimilarity in the dry season,and the macroinvertebrate community had the highest dissimilarity in the wet season.The relative importance of the turnover and nestedness components varied considerably across taxa and along spatial gradients.The diversity patterns of macroinvertebrate,zooplankton and phytoplankton communities were significantly correlated with several environmental factors,whereas only the beta diversity of fish was correlated with altitude.Stochastic processes dominated in shaping the macroinvertebrate communities whereas deterministic processes dominated the assembly of the phytoplankton communities.Weak congruence of diversity patterns across taxonomic groups suggested that biological groups cannot serve as reliable surrogates for one another and that multiple biological groups should be included in the biomonitoring of high-altitude rivers on the Q‒T Plateau.The relatively unique species in the upstream area and estuary of the Za'gya Zangbo River harbor should receive more attention in future conservation and management schemes.

Marine Ranching:China’s Blue Solution for Food Security

Facing global food challenges,China is pioneering an innovative solution to ocean resource management:marine ranching.This concept,transforming sections of the sea into managed underwater farms,stands at the forefront of China’s food security and ecological preservation strategy.Led by institutions like the Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences,marine ranching goes beyond traditional aquaculture.It establishes managed ecosystems that not only yield food but also contribute to the restoration of marine biodiversity.This blue revolution addresses the urgent need for sustainable seafood production and aids in rehabilitating underwater ecosystems.China’s practice in this field might have provided valuable reference for global sustainable ocean management.

FishCODE: a web-based information platform for comprehensive omics data exploration in fish research

Fishes are the largest group of vertebrates,representing more than half of all vertebrate species on Earth.Important aquaculture species,such as Atlantic salmon,cod,and large yellow croaker,contribute to over 16%of the global seafood supply for human consumption(Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,2020).Zebrafish(Danio rerio),medaka(Oryzias latipes),threespined stickleback(Gasterosteus aculeatus),and other fish species are important model organisms in life science research.