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Community structure of small fishes in a shallow macrophytic lake (Niushan Lake) along the middle reach of the Yangtze River, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2007

Shaowen Ye ,
Zhongjie Li ,
Sithan Lek-Ang ,
Guangpeng Feng ,
Sovan Lek  and
Wenxuan Cao
Shaowen Ye
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 430072 Wuhan, China Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100039 Beijing, China
Zhongjie Li
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 430072 Wuhan, China
Sithan Lek-Ang
Affiliation:
LADYBIO-UMR 5172, CNRS-University Paul Sabatier, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex, France
Guangpeng Feng
Affiliation:
East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, The Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 200090 Shanghai, China
Sovan Lek
Affiliation:
LADYBIO-UMR 5172, CNRS-University Paul Sabatier, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex, France
Wenxuan Cao
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 430072 Wuhan, China
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Abstract

This study describes the current status of the small fish community in Niushan Lake in China, and examines the spatial and seasonal variations of the community in relation to key environmental factors. Based on macrophyte cover conditions, the lake was divided into three major habitat types: (1) Potamogeton maackianus habitat, (2) Potamogeton maackianus and Myriophyllum spicatum habitat, and (3) uncovered or less-covered habitat. Fish were sampled quantitatively in the three habitat types by block nets seasonally from September 2002 to August 2003. A total of 10 469 individuals from 27 fish species were caught, among which 20 species were considered as small fishes. Rhodeus ocellatus, Paracheilognathus imberbis, Pseudorasbora parva, Micropercops swinhonis and Cultrichthys erythropterus were recognized as dominant small fishes according to their abundance and occurrence. It was noted that (1) small fishes predominated the total number of fish species in the lake, which reflected to some degree the size diminution phenomenon of fish resources; (2) many small fishes had plant detritus as their food item, which was consistent with the abundance of macrophyte detritus in the lake and implied the importance of detritus in supporting small fish secondary production. Canonical correspondence analysis suggested that the spatial distributions of most small fishes were associated with complex macrophyte cover conditions. Macrophyte biomass was positively correlated with species richness, diversity index and the catch per unit of effort (CPUE) of the fish community. Water depth had no significant effects on species diversity and distribution of the small fishes. Correspondence analysis revealed a higher occurrence of the small fishes and higher abundance of individuals in summer and autumn. Seasonal length-frequency distributions of several species indicated that more larval and juvenile individuals appeared in spring and summer. This study provides some baseline information which will be essential to long-term monitoring of small fish communities in the Yangtze lakes.

Keywords

Small fishesFreshwater community structureHabitat utilizationMultivariate statisticsLake fishery managementYangtze lakes
Type
Research Article
Information
Aquatic Living Resources , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , October 2006 , pp. 349 - 359
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, IFREMER, IRD, 2007

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