Impact of the Three Gorges Dam on reproduction of four major Chinese carps species in the middle reaches of the Changjiang River

Li, Mingzheng; Duan, Zhonghua; Gao, Xin; Cao, Weiguo; Liu, Huanzhang

doi:10.1007/s00343-016-4303-2

Cited by 29 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…In this section, there were 11 spawning grounds recorded for the study carps, and these spawning grounds together shared 42.7% of the total fish larvae production in the Yangtze River [9]. The study sites were in the Yidu reach and Zhicheng reach of the Yangtze River (Figure 1) [9,11]. The Yidu spawning ground is about 58 km downstream from the Three Gorges Dam, and 20 km downstream from the Gezhouba Dam.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Each collection lasted for 60 min. The eggs sampling methods and the total numbers of eggs calculation formula were proposed by Li et al [11]. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH were measured on each of the sampling occasion in 2015 ( Figures 6-8).…”

Section: Eggs Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to historical records, discharge during the spawning season was 5711-45208 m 3 /s in the middle reach of the Yangtze River [11]. However, a too large or too small daily discharge was not good for carp spawning [15].…”

Section: The Ecological Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the construction of the Gezhouba Dam in 1981 and the Three Gorges Dam in 2003 has remarkably changed downstream hydrological conditions, and led to a sharp decline in the suitable spawning area of the four carp species. The spawning activities of these four species of carp have been severely impacted [9][10][11]. According to field surveys, egg abundance of the four major Chinese species of carp in the Yidu section of the Yangtze River were 7.74 and 8.35 billion in 1964 and 1965 [4], but only 1.11 billion in 1981 [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to field surveys, egg abundance of the four major Chinese species of carp in the Yidu section of the Yangtze River were 7.74 and 8.35 billion in 1964 and 1965 [4], but only 1.11 billion in 1981 [12]. After the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, egg abundance of these four species of carp was only 0.003-0.585 billion during 2005-2012 [11]. Egg abundance has shown a distinctive decreasing tendency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological Flow Assessment to Improve the Spawning Habitat for the Four Major Species of Carp of the Yangtze River: A Study on Habitat Suitability Based on Ultrasonic Telemetry

Lin

Chen

et al. 2018

Water

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Four major species of Chinese carp, namely black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), are important economic freshwater fish varieties in China. They primarily inhabit and breed in the Yangtze River. Unfortunately, the construction and operation of the Gezhouba Dam and the Three Gorges Dam have dramatically changed the hydrodynamic conditions in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, leading to a sharp decline in the reproduction rates of these carp. The egg abundance of the four species of carp downstream from the Three Gorges Dam reached 8.35 billion in 1965, but abundance during 2005-2012 was only 0.25 billion. One of the main reasons was that the hydrodynamic conditions of the spawning ground could not meet the four species' breeding requirements. However, due to the limitations of traditional detection tools, the spawning characteristics of these four species of carp were still unclear. In this study, the ultrasonic telemetry and a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model were utilized to build the habitat suitability index (HSI) curves for the four species of carp. The habitat suitability model was then built based on HSI curves to assess spawning habitat quantity under different flow conditions. Finally, the habitat suitability model in the Yidu spawning ground was validated using 32 groups of sampling data in 2015 and 2017. The statistical results showed that the most suitable velocity ranged from 0.78 m/s to 0.93 m/s. The most suitable water depth ranged from 14.56 m to 16.35 m, and the most suitable Froude number ranged from 0.049 to 0.129. The habitat suitability model simulation results indicated that when the discharge was between 15,000 m 3 /s and 21,300 m 3 /s, the weighted usable area (WUA) values in both the Yidu and Zhicheng spawning grounds would remain at a high level. The validation results showed that most spawning activities occurred at a high level of WUA, and that the daily spawning egg numbers increased with the WUA value. Therefore, discharges of between 15,000 m 3 /s and 21,300 m 3 /s could be recommended as ecological operation target flows. We propose a feasible ecological operation scheme by setting the initial flow at 15,000 m 3 /s and maintaining the daily discharge increase at 1500 m 3 /s for 4 days.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Eggs Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Ecological Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological Flow Assessment to Improve the Spawning Habitat for the Four Major Species of Carp of the Yangtze River: A Study on Habitat Suitability Based on Ultrasonic Telemetry

Lin

Chen

et al. 2018

Water

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The impact of dams on the population viability of a migratory fish in the Yangtze River, China

Gao

Fujiwara

Zhang

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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1. The global diversity of freshwater fish has been greatly reduced as a result of human alteration. In the Yangtze River, China, the species composition has changed hugely owing to dam construction and overfishing. However, insufficient data have prevented the status of several fish species being evaluated, including that of largemouth bronze gudgeon (Coreius guichenoti), which is a commercially important endemic species.2. This study describes the effects of the Xiangjia Dam on populations of C. guichenoti. A multivariate autoregressive state-space model was applied to catch per unit effort data derived from drifting gill nets deployed in the midchannel before (2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) and after (2013-2018) the construction of the dam.3. The analysis indicated that the mean instantaneous population growth rate of the population was À0.252 over the entire period and that the growth rates of both total and local populations have declined. Before the impoundment, the probability of population extinction was close to 1, which was the result of overfishing. After impoundment, the probability of extinction became 1 at all sites, and the time until quasi-extinction has decreased. Based on the Euler-Lotka equation, the reproductive parameter (á) has declined by more than 95%.4. The results show that the population of C. guichenoti in the upper Yangtze is almost certain to become extinct under the current conditions because of the Xiangjiaba Dam blocking migration routes. To protect this population, conservation measures, such as hatchery supplementation, the removal of small hydropower stations in the tributaries and the relocation of fish, are required.

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Temporal and spatial biosonar activity of the recently established uppermost Yangtze finless porpoise population downstream of the Gezhouba Dam: Correlation with hydropower cascade development, shipping, hydrological regime, and light intensity

Wang,

Duan,

Akamatsu

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Numerous dams disrupt freshwater animals. The uppermost population of the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise has been newly formed below the Gezhouba Dam, however, information regarding the local porpoise is scarce. Passive acoustic monitoring was used to detect the behaviors of porpoises below the Gezhouba Dam. The influence of shipping, pandemic lockdown, hydrological regime, and light intensity on the biosonar activity of dolphins was also examined using Generalized linear models. Over the course of 4 years (2019–2022), approximately 848, 596, and 676 effective monitoring days were investigated at the three sites, from upstream to downstream. Observations revealed significant spatio‐temporal biosonar activity. Proportion of days that are porpoise positive were 73%, 54%, and 61%, while porpoise buzz signals accounted for 78.49%, 62.35%, and 81.30% of all porpoise biosonar at the three stations. The biosonar activity of porpoises was much higher at the confluence area, particularly at the MZ site, during the absence of boat traffic, and during the Pandemic shutdown. Temporal trends of monthly, seasonal, and yearly variation were also visible, with the highest number of porpoises biosonar detected in the summer season and in 2020. Significant correlations also exist between the hydrological regime and light intensity and porpoise activity, with much higher detections during nighttime and full moon periods. Hydropower cascade development, establishment of a natural reserve, fish release initiatives, and implementation of fishing restrictions may facilitate the proliferation of the porpoise population downstream of the Gezhouba Dam within the Yichang section of the Yangtze River. Prioritizing restoration designs that match natural flow regimes, optimize boat traffic, and reduce noise pollution is crucial for promoting the conservation of the local porpoises.

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Impact of the Three Gorges Dam on reproduction of four major Chinese carps species in the middle reaches of the Changjiang River

Cited by 29 publications

References 25 publications

Ecological Flow Assessment to Improve the Spawning Habitat for the Four Major Species of Carp of the Yangtze River: A Study on Habitat Suitability Based on Ultrasonic Telemetry

Ecological Flow Assessment to Improve the Spawning Habitat for the Four Major Species of Carp of the Yangtze River: A Study on Habitat Suitability Based on Ultrasonic Telemetry

The impact of dams on the population viability of a migratory fish in the Yangtze River, China

Temporal and spatial biosonar activity of the recently established uppermost Yangtze finless porpoise population downstream of the Gezhouba Dam: Correlation with hydropower cascade development, shipping, hydrological regime, and light intensity

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