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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

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Abstract

Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), and black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) are the four major Chinese carps and are commercially important aquaculture species in China. Reproduction of these carp has declined since the construction of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) due to an altered water flow and thermal regime in the Changjiang (Yangtze) River. However, details of the changes in reproduction of the four species are not well understood. To assess the impact of the TGD on reproduction of the four carp, we investigated their eggs and larvae at Yidu City, which is 80 km below the TGD, during 2005–2012. We examined diff erences in larval abundance of the four species in the Jianli section (350 km downstream of the TGD) before (1997–2002) and after (2003–2012) construction of the TGD. Based on these observations, the first spawning date of the four species was delayed a mean of about 25 days after the dam was constructed. Mean egg abundance in the Yidu section of the river was 249 million and mean larval abundance was 464 million, which were significant decreases since the 1980s. Moreover, larval abundance in the Jianli section after the dam was constructed was significantly lower than that before construction (ANCOVA, P<0.05). The observed larval abundance accounted for only 24.66% of the predicted value in 2003 when the dam was first inundated. The present spawning grounds between the TGD and Yidu section of the river are very similar to those described in the 1980s, and some spawning grounds exist upstream of the TGD. Large free-flowing stretches upstream of the TGD and the creation of artificially flooded downstream reaches are needed to stimulate spawning and eff ectively conserve these four major Chinese carps species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Mingzheng Li  (黎明政), Zhonghua Duan  (段中华), Xin Gao  (高欣), Wenxuan Cao  (曹文宣) & Huanzhang Liu  (刘焕章)

  2. Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy Of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Mingzheng Li  (黎明政), Zhonghua Duan  (段中华), Xin Gao  (高欣), Wenxuan Cao  (曹文宣) & Huanzhang Liu  (刘焕章)

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  1. Mingzheng Li  (黎明政)
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  2. Zhonghua Duan  (段中华)
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  3. Xin Gao  (高欣)
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  4. Wenxuan Cao  (曹文宣)
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  5. Huanzhang Liu  (刘焕章)
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Correspondence to Huanzhang Liu  (刘焕章).

Additional information

Supported by the Three Gorges Project Eco-Environmental Monitoring System (No. JJ[2015]-010) and the China Three Gorges Corporation (No. 0704097, 0799533)

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Li, M., Duan, Z., Gao, X. et al. Impact of the Three Gorges Dam on reproduction of four major Chinese carps species in the middle reaches of the Changjiang River. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 34, 885–893 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-016-4303-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-016-4303-2

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