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Seasonal changes in fish diversity, density, biomass, and assemblage alongside environmental variables in the Yangtze River Estuary

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Abstract

The present study used multivariate techniques, to analyze the fish species diversity and distribution patterns in order to determine the possible role of environmental parameters as drivers of fish community structure and composition in the Yangtze River Estuary (YRE). This analysis was conducted using data obtained in the YRE from February 2012 to December 2014. Analysis of the catch data showed that species composition, total density, and total biomass varied significantly between stations and seasons. Thirty-eight species belonging to 18 families were collected. Sciaenidae was the most dominant family accounting for 40.8% of total captured specimens. In descending order, Collichthys lucidus, Cynoglossus gracilis, Chaeturichthys stigmatias, and Lophiogobius ocellicauda dominated catches in the YRE. These four species constituted 64.2% of the total catches and showed average dissimilarities of 74.19% between stations and 81.3% between months. The highest number of fish specimens captured was recorded in August 2012 while the highest species richness was observed in December 2013. The mean fish density and biomass for the YRE was 0.35 individuals/m2 and 2.5 g/m2, respectively. The mean density and biomass for the most important and dominant species changed significantly between stations and seasons. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that salinity and chlorophyll-a were the key variables that structured the fish assemblage in the YRE. High total species density and biomass were recorded in high saline stations (North Branch) of the YRE. This study confirms that most species captured in the YRE needs estuarine conditions to complete their growth and development. Hence, the findings in this study are important to understanding and developing suitable conservation plans for the management of fish resources in the YRE.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff and students of the College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University and the Shanghai Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Research Center, Shanghai for their vital help during samplings. We are also grateful to the editor and the anonymous reviewers whose comments greatly improved the manuscript.

Funding

This project was supported and financed through the Shanghai Municipal Council by the Ministry of agriculture, China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China

    Richard Kindong, Jianhui Wu, Chunxia Gao, Libin Dai, Siquan Tian & Xiaojie Dai

  2. National Engineering Research Center for Oceanic Fisheries, Shanghai, China

    Richard Kindong, Chunxia Gao, Siquan Tian & Xiaojie Dai

  3. Scientific Observation and Experimental Station, Oceanic Fisheries Resources and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai, China

    Richard Kindong, Chunxia Gao, Siquan Tian & Xiaojie Dai

  4. Collaborative Innovation Center for Distant Water Fisheries, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China

    Richard Kindong, Chunxia Gao, Siquan Tian & Xiaojie Dai

  5. Shanghai Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Research Center, Shanghai, 200003, China

    Jianhui Wu & Jinhui Chen

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  1. Richard Kindong
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Correspondence to Siquan Tian.

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All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities and are mentioned in the acknowledgements.

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Kindong, R., Wu, J., Gao, C. et al. Seasonal changes in fish diversity, density, biomass, and assemblage alongside environmental variables in the Yangtze River Estuary. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 25461–25474 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08674-8

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