Fishing for conservation of freshwater tropical fishes in the Anthropocene

1. The ecosystem services provided by freshwater biodiversity are threatened by development and environmental and climate change in the Anthropocene.
2. Here, case studies are described to show that a focus on the shared dependence on freshwater ecosystem functioning can mutually benefit fisheries and conservation agendas in the Anthropocene.
3. Meeting the threat to fish biodiversity and fisher livelihood is pertinent in developing regions where there is often a convergence between high biodiversity, high dependency on aquatic biota and rapid economic development (see Kafue River, Logone floodplain, Tonle Sap, and Rio Negro case studies).
4. These case studies serve as evidence that biodiversity conservation goals can be achieved by emphasizing a sustainable fisheries agenda with partnerships, shared knowledge and innovation in fisheries management (see Kafue River and Kenai River case studies).
5. In all case studies, aquatic biodiversity conservation and fisheries agendas are better served if efforts focused on creating synergies between fishing activities with ecosystem functioning yield long‐term livelihood and food security narratives.
6. A unified voice from conservation and fisheries communities has more socio‐economic and political capital to advocate for biodiversity and social interests in freshwater governance decisions.

     

Country‐wide analysis of large wood as a driver of fish abundance in Swedish streams: Which species benefit and where?

1. Rivers are heavily affected by human impacts that threaten many fish species. Among restoration measures, the addition of large wood (LW) in streams has been shown to increase fish abundance, yet which species benefit from LW, to what extent relative to other drivers, and which factors influence LW quantity is not clear, and these uncertainties limit our ability to use LW as an effective restoration measure.
2. Here, a time series (from 1993 to 2016) of electrofishing data, including 3641 streams across Sweden, was used to investigate the beneficial effects of LW on the abundance of juvenile brown trout, Salmo trutta, juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, and juvenile and adult sculpins, Cottus gobio and Cottus poecilopus, while accounting for other abiotic and biotic factors, and the drivers of LW abundance at a country‐wide scale.
3. Large wood benefitted brown trout, and the effects were greater with decreasing shaded stream surface. LW effects were comparable in magnitude to the positive effects of average annual air temperature and the negative effects of stream depth and predator abundance – factors where the influence was second only to the negative effects of stream width. LW did not benefit salmon abundance, which was correlated positively with stream width and negatively with altitude, nor did it benefit sculpin abundances, which mainly decreased with annual average air temperature and altitude.
4. The quantity of LW strongly diminished with stream width, and, to a lesser extent, with stream depth, altitude, annual average air temperature, and forest age, whereas it increased with stream velocity, slope, and forest cover.
5. The results suggest that LW can be used as an effective restoration tool for brown trout in shallow and narrow streams, especially in areas with little shade. Here, the addition of LW may help to alleviate the impacts of forest clearance and climate change.

     

Occurrence patterns of African manatees,conflicts with humans,and local perception in the Southern Korup Area,Cameroon

1. The African manatee has been poorly studied throughout its range and is heavily hunted. This study aimed at discerning patterns in manatee sightings and emerging conflicts with humans, as well as the local perception of manatees, outside the southern periphery of Korup National Park, Cameroon.
2. The study investigated whether patterns in manatee sightings and manatee‐related conflicts differ between aquatic systems in southern Korup, and which demographic variables determine perceptions of the manatee in the study area. For this purpose, the study used a three‐stage stratified random sampling design with a structured questionnaire to survey 101 local fishers.
3. The reported patterns of manatee sightings and manatee‐related conflicts were as follows: in the Nyangorobe River during the wet season only, where crop raiding and net destruction by manatees were reported; in the Ndian River and the mangrove estuary only during the dry season, where fish theft and net damage were reported; and in the Moko River during both seasons, where crop raiding, fish theft, and net destruction were reported. Reducing these conflicts is likely to increase local support for the conservation of manatees, because fishermen kill them in response to net destruction and fish loss.
4. Most reported sightings were at waterway intersections and river bends, suggesting that waterway connectivity is important to manatees for dispersal, foraging, and escape from danger.
5. The log‐odds probability of negative perception decreased significantly with awareness of manatee protected status but increased with age and primary or higher education level. These findings have implications for community outreach focused on raising awareness of the importance of manatee conservation by schoolchildren and the public.

     

Hydrological and water cycle processes of inland river basins in the arid region of Northwest China

The increasing shortage in water resources is a key factor affecting sustainable socio-economic development in the arid region of Northwest China(ARNC). Water shortages also affect the stability of the region's oasis ecosystem. This paper summarizes the hydrological processes and water cycle of inland river basins in the ARNC, focusing on the following aspects: the spatial-temporal features of water resources(including air water vapor resources, runoff, and glacial meltwater) and their driving forces; the characteristics of streamflow composition in the inland river basins; the characteristics and main controlling factors of baseflow in the inland rivers; and anticipated future changes in hydrological processes and water resources. The results indicate that:(1) although the runoff in most inland rivers in the ARNC showed a significant increasing trend, both the glaciated area and glacial ice reserves have been reduced in the mountains;(2) snow melt and glacier melt are extremely important hydrological processes in the ARNC, especially in the Kunlun and Tianshan mountains;(3) baseflow in the inland rivers of the ARNC is the result of climate change and human activities, with the main driving factors being the reduction in forest area and the over-exploitation and utilization of groundwater in the river basins; and(4) the contradictions among water resources, ecology and economy will further increase in the future. The findings of this study might also help strengthen the ecological, economic and social sustainable development in the study region.     

近36年藏东“三江”流域农业气候资源变化特征

为了解藏东"三江"流域农业气候资源的变化特征,为政府部门合理利用气候资源提供科学依据。利用藏东"三江"流域1980—2015年逐日气温、降水量、日照时数等资料,应用线性倾向估计、M-K突变检验等方法,分析近36年藏东"三江"流域热量、光照、降水资源的变化趋势及对农业生产的影响。结果表明:近36年,藏东"三江"流域年平均气温、日照时数、降水量呈增加趋势,气候倾向率分别为0.38℃/10 a、22.2 h/10 a、9.4 mm/10 a;流域内各站气温年、季变化趋势一致,日照时数与降水量年、季变化趋势差异较大;降水相对变率春季最大,夏季最小;≥0℃的初日提早、终日推迟,持续日数延长,积温增长。农业气候资源的变化将对藏东"三江"流域农业的发展产生巨大影响。     

长江流域近期水沙变化趋势及成因分析

采用双累积曲线法分析了2000—2013年长江流域7大水文站水沙变化关系,基于Mann-kendall检验法和Yamamoto突变检验法研究水沙变化趋势和突变年份。结果表明,屏山、朱沱和寸滩站的双累积曲线较为顺直。宜昌、沙市、汉口和大通站则均在2005年发生转折,斜率减小,输沙量大幅减小;长江干流径流量的变化趋势较为平稳,发生突变的现象少,仅屏山站于2001—2002和2005—2006年发生突变,而输沙量的变化趋势则较为明显,常发生强突变现象,且宜昌、沙市、汉口和大通站均无虚假点出现;造成长江干流2000年以来输沙量显著减小的主要原因是三峡水库的蓄水运用和水土保持工作的持续开展,而降雨量下降是导致径流量减小的因素之一。     

环境管制政策的实施效果评价——以九龙江流域"限猪令"为例

环境管制一直是我国环境污染治理所采取的主要政策之一,对我国的环境保护起到了一定的积极作用,同时也存在一些弊端,致使其成效不甚显著甚至背离初始目标.在此情况下,如何评价环境管制政策绩效具有重要的理论和实际意义.本文以九龙江流域"限猪令"政策为例,选取政策目标实现度、主要环保指标实现、环保投入效益、公众参与及满意度四个方面...     

长江中游监利江段鱼卵及仔稚鱼时空分布

2010年5-7月对长江中游监利江段鱼卵和仔稚鱼的时空分布进行调查,共采集到鱼卵样品9494粒,仔稚鱼样品328422尾,分属8目15科43属51种.结果显示:5-7月鱼卵的平均密度为13.3 ind./100m3,最大密度值87.8 ind./100 m3,主要集中在5月;5-7月仔稚鱼平均密度为61.8 ind./...     

Movement patterns of adult pike (Esox lucius L.) in a Belgian lowland river

Northern pike, Esox lucius, needs different habitats to survive and reproduce and thus depends on the availability and accessibility of these habitats. To efficiently manage pike, information is needed on its spatial and temporal patterns of migration. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of adult pike migration and which environmental variables influenced migration. From December 2010, we followed 15 pike for 1 year by use of radio telemetry in the River Yser, a typical lowland river characterised by anthropogenic impacts such as artificial embankments. Pike migrated most in February and March, which could indicate they frequented spawning habitat in this period. Four environmental variables significantly affected pike migration, ranging from the location where pike were observed (strongest effect), over water temperature and flow to diel water temperature change (weakest effect). The relation between migration and the location where pike were observed could demonstrate that pike preferred specific regions in the river. Increasing water temperature triggered migration for both sexes, and males started migrating at lower temperatures than females, which suggests that males start migrating earlier. This was the only substantial difference observed between male and female pike migration. The results suggest that migration was inhibited by high flow, as no migration was observed at high flow. River managers can use this information to efficiently manage their pike populations, for example, by removing or temporarily opening hydraulic structures like valves, weirs and sluices. This may facilitate access to suitable habitats at moments pike needs these habitats to fulfil its life cycle.     

Flow alteration and thermal pollution depress modelled growth rates of an iconic riverine fish,the Murray cod Maccullochella peelii

The serial discontinuity concept (SDC) proposes that hypolimnetic‐releasing impoundments cause major disruptions to the naturally occurring physical, chemical and biological gradients of rivers but that this impact diminishes with distance downstream. Such a gradient in discharge, flow velocity and temperature regime occurs below a large hypolimnetic‐releasing impoundment, the Hume Dam, on the River Murray in south‐eastern Australia. To examine the effects of this disturbance gradient on a warm‐water large‐bodied freshwater fish, the Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii), a bioenergetics model was developed and calibrated to explore energy expended under differing water velocities and temperature regimes. Model simulations predicted negative growth of juveniles directly downstream of the impoundment, due largely to the energetic costs associated with active and, to a lesser extent, standard metabolism outweighing the achievable energetic gains through food consumption. As flow velocity and temperature regimes became more favourable downstream, so did the simulated growth of the species. It was not until +239 km downstream of the impoundment that the model predicted that flow velocity and temperature regimes were suitable for greater weight gains. The modelled growth responses of juvenile Murray cod are consistent with the predictions of the SDC, emphasising that changes in the bioenergetics of individuals are likely to be reflected in reduced growth rates under the changed flow velocity and temperature regimes imposed by disturbance gradients. This research represents a valuable step in the biological understanding of Murray cod within variable riverine environments and emphasises the urgency required to mitigate impacts associated with hypolimnetic impoundments.