The impact of fisheries management practices on the survival of the Yangtze finless porpoise in China

1. The Critically Endangered Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) is facing a significant threat from illegal fishing in Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake, and current fisheries management has proved insufficient to eliminate illegal fishing.
2. A survey of local communities around the two lakes was conducted to investigate fishing activities and their potential impacts. Using a series of six scenarios derived from our data, we suggest that enhanced daytime patrols may have driven fishers to conduct compensatory night‐time fishing when the patrols are absent. Night‐time fishing activities overlap temporally with the main period of Yangtze finless porpoise foraging, so the potential intensification of night‐time fishing with the use of illegal gears could pose an increased threat to porpoises.
3. In addition to increasing law enforcement management efforts, helping fishers to secure alternative livelihoods may provide a more practical and sustainable long‐term method for reducing illegal fishing and its impacts on porpoises. This study also provides important lessons for conservation policy‐making and implementation for other cetacean species threatened by illegal fishing.

     

Modelling functional fish habitat connectivity in rivers: A case study for prioritizing restoration actions targeting brown trout

1. Throughout the world, decreased connectivity of fluvial habitats caused by artificial river channel alterations such as culverts, weirs and dykes is seen as an important threat to the long‐term survival of many aquatic species. In addition to assessing habitat quality and abundance, wildlife managers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of taking into account habitat connectivity when setting priorities for restoration. In this paper, a new approach of spatial analysis adapted to rivers and streams is proposed for modelling 2D functional habitat connectivity, integrating distance, costs and risk of travelling between habitat patches (e.g. daily use, spawning, refuge) for particular fish species, size classes and life stages.
2. This approach was applied to a case study in which brown trout (Salmo trutta) habitat accessibility was examined and compared under various scenarios of stream restoration in a highly fragmented stream in Ile‐de‐France. Probabilities of reaching spawning habitats were estimated from a trout‐populated area located downstream of the barriers and from potential daily‐use habitat patches across the stream segment.
3. The approach successfully helped prioritize restoration actions by identifying options that yield the greatest increase in accessible spawning habitat areas and connectivity between spawning habitat and daily‐use habitat patches. This case study illustrates the practical use of the approach and the software in the context of river habitat management.

     

Distribution and habitat characteristics of three sympatric cetacean species in the coastal waters of Matang,Perak, Peninsular Malaysia

1. Coastal cetaceans in Southeast Asia are poorly studied and are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic threats, especially in intensive fishing grounds.
2. To investigate the distribution and habitat characteristics of cetaceans in the productive coastal waters of Matang, Perak, Malaysia, boat‐based line transect surveys were conducted between 2013 and 2016.
3. The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) was most frequently encountered at 3.87 sightings per 100 km, followed by the Indo‐Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) at 1.72 sightings per 100 km, and the Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) at 0.66 sightings per 100 km.
4. The mean group size was largest for humpback dolphins (8.4 individuals), followed by Irrawaddy dolphins (6.4 individuals), and finless porpoises (2.8 individuals).
5. Humpback dolphins exhibited a clustered distribution concentrated mainly in shallow estuarine waters (<10 m deep and <5 km from river mouths), whereas Irrawaddy dolphins were more widely distributed in farther coastal waters (<15 m deep and <15 km from river mouths), and finless porpoises were mostly found farthest from the shore in coastal waters (10–25 m deep and >15 km from river mouths).
6. The spatial distribution of the three cetaceans overlapped minimally, and this is likely to reflect the distribution of preferred prey resources, species interactions, and their differential responses to anthropogenic activities and species dominance.
7. The results from our study serve as baseline information for future research, conservation, and habitat management of these vulnerable and endangered coastal cetaceans. Conservation actions are recommended for the Matang area.

     

Spatial distribution patterns of fish egg and larval assemblages in the lower reach of the Yangtze River: Potential implications for conservation and management

1. River fish diversity is threatened by anthropogenic environmental alteration to landscapes. The early life-history stages of fish play an important role in maintaining diversity and population recruitment and can be heavily influenced by landscape patterns. Information on temporal and spatial distribution patterns of fish eggs and larvae is also important for biodiversity conservation and management of fish resources.
2. The Yangtze River possesses a high diversity of fishes, including many commercially important species. The economy along the lower reach of the river is well developed, and most of the area is experiencing high pressure from human impacts. This section of the Yangtze River connects with the largest freshwater lake in China at the upstream end and flows into the estuary at the downstream end. These two landscape features are likely to have a significant impact upon the spatial distributions of fish egg and larval assemblages.
3. Environmental variables, fish eggs, and larval assemblages were sampled in three locations, at Hukou, Anqing, and Jingjiang, in the lower reach of the Yangtze River. The results suggest that the higher number of species and greater abundance in upstream sites reflect the critical function of connectivity of Poyang Lake with the river for fish recruitment in the lower Yangtze. The delayed bloom of larval fish, occurrence of estuarine species, and a lower species number and abundance of freshwater fish downstream reflect the influence of tidal intrusion from the estuary.
4. This study highlights the value of maintaining natural river–lakes connectivity in the Yangtze River as a conservation measure. The connected river–lake system should be designated as a priority area for fish resource protection in the lower reach of the Yangtze River. We recommend further measures to break down barriers between the river and other lakes and to restore the natural lateral connectivity of the floodplain ecosystem.

     

Spatial–temporal variations in biosonar activity of Yangtze finless porpoise in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and its correlation with underwater noise: Are quieter non-shipping branches the remaining shelters?

1. Yangtze finless porpoise (YFP) is Critically Endangered, It relies on its biological sonar sensing system for important life activities. The rapid development of the Yangtze valley has brought busy shipping, which has resulted in increased noise.
2. Two locations on the shipping channel and non-shipping branch were selected. Passive acoustic monitoring was used to record the biosonar signals of porpoises and underwater noise. The number of click trains, echolocation encounters, buzzes and buzz ratios were counted and the root mean square sound pressure level of noise was calculated in five diel phases.
3. A non-parametric test was used to analyse the differences among different phases and between different locations. The aim of the study was to detect the spatial and temporal variations in the biosonar activity of YFPs and underwater noise between non-shipping and shipping channels, and to provide scientific advice for YFP conservation.
4. Significant spatial and temporal patterns were observed both in biosonar activity and noise. Average biosonar activity, including click trains, buzzes, buzz ratio and echolocation encounters, was higher in the non-shipping channel than in the shipping channel, whereas the noise level was higher in the shipping channel than in the non-shipping channel.
5. In the non-shipping channel, the buzz numbers and buzz ratios, indicators of porpoise feeding activity, were higher at night than during the day while the noise level was higher during the day than at night.
6. These findings may be associated with the noise avoidance strategies of YFPs to adapt to the busy shipping on the Yangtze River. Maintaining the non-shipping status of some branches of the Yangtze River can provide more shelters for the YFPs. Strengthening the measures for banning navigation at night or reducing the vessel speed at night throughout the entire year would improve the YFPs’ feeding success.

     

Differential population dynamics of a coastal porpoise correspond to the fishing effort in a large estuarine system

1. The finless porpoise (genus Neophocaena) is susceptible to fishery‐caused mortality, and its numbers are thought to be in decline across its entire range. However, population demographics have rarely been quantified for this genus, with a few exceptions of the narrow‐ridged form (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) in waters off Japan, Korea, and in the Yangtze River of China, all of which show a drastic decline in recent decades. Similar analyses have not been performed for the Indo‐Pacific (known also as the wide‐ridged) finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) that inhabits (sub‐)tropical waters; thus, reliable risk assessments are lacking.
2. The demographic dynamics of the Indo‐Pacific finless porpoise in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region were investigated by analysing 307 cases of beached carcasses that were recovered between 1996 and 2014. The mean instantaneous rate of increase r indicated a declining trend of 3.6% loss per annum during 1996–2005, and a subsequent recovering trend with 0.76% increase per annum during 2006–2014. The individual‐based Leslie matrix model constructed with the most up‐to‐date demographic parameters suggests that the conservation status of the finless porpoise in the PRD region corresponds to Near Threatened (NT) according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature criterion A3.
3. This temporal demographic change may be due to changes in fishing effort, which has been declining locally since the late 1990s. Although more quantitative evidence is needed, it is shown that regulated management of coastal fisheries can serve as an effective tool in securing the long‐term persistence of Indo‐Pacific finless porpoise in the PRD region, which likely applies also elsewhere in the genus/species' range where coastal fisheries overlap with the porpoise habitat. Results provide baseline ecological indicators that can facilitate further monitoring of the population status and trend.

     

The Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer): population status and conservation issues in the Yangtze River,China

• 1. Baiji were sighted 17 times during three recent simultaneous multi‐vessel surveys in the Yangtze River, China (November 4–10, 1997; December 4–9, 1998; October 31–November 5, 1999). There were 11 sightings in 1997 (consisting of 17 animals), five in 1998 (seven animals), and two in 1999 (four animals). It was concluded that 13 individuals could be considered as a minimum number of the baiji currently in the Yangtze River.
• 2. An annual rate of population decrease was roughly estimated as 10%. From the body sizes observed, the proportions of old, adult and immature individuals were approximately estimated at 57, 26, and 17% respectively.
• 3. Baiji showed a significant attraction to confluences and sand bars with large eddies. The present distribution range of the baiji is less than 1400 km in length in the Yangtze main river. Distances between the two nearest groups of baiji appear to be increasing.
• 4. Two typical sightings are described, in which surfacing and movements of baiji were recorded. Baiji were often found swimming together with finless porpoise. In the surveys they occurred in the same group in 63% of occurrences. Interactions between baiji and finless porpoise are described and discussed.
• 5. Human activities are the main threats to the baiji. Illegal electrical fishing accounted for 40% of known mortalities during the 1990s. Engineering explosions for maintaining navigation channels have become another main cause of baiji deaths. The last hope of saving the species may be to translocate the remaining baiji into a semi‐captive reserve, known as the ‘Baiji Semi‐natural Reserve’.

Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Habitat use by a freshwater dolphin in the low‐water season

相似文献   

Exposed riverine sediments (ERS) in England and Wales: distribution,controls and management

相似文献   

Swimming nets have positive effects on populations of the endangered White's seahorse Hippocampus whitei

1. Habitat degradation and destruction arising from rapidly increasing urbanization represents one of the most significant threats to biodiversity. Human populations are continuing to increase around coastal regions, and as marine habitats are displaced by artificial structures it is important to understand how marine species may be impacted by these changes in habitat availability. The endangered seahorse Hippocampus whitei has been observed inhabiting protective swimming nets in Sydney Harbour, Sydney, Australia, even in the presence of natural habitats.
2. This study tested whether the presence of a swimming net results in increased seahorse numbers at sites around Sydney Harbour, or whether seahorses are attracted away from natural habitats. Density surveys and mark–recapture population estimates were done at sites with pre-existing swimming nets and compared to control sites where only natural habitat was present. A manipulative experiment was conducted in which panels of swimming net material were installed at two sites in Sydney Harbour, with comparisons to control sites over a period of 14 months (April 2018 to June 2019) to test whether the installation of swimming nets would affect seahorses on surrounding natural habitat or increase site abundance.
3. The pre-existing and installed swimming nets were found to support greater densities of H. whitei as well as some increases in site-scale abundance, with no effects on seahorse density on natural habitats. It is likely that increased seahorse production is occurring on the nets, with no evidence that seahorses are being attracted away from natural habitat; however, effects may vary across survey occasions and sites. Furthermore, swimming nets may serve as a useful replacement habitat in locations where natural habitat has become sparse or absent.