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Effects of fish community on occurrences of Yangtze finless porpoise in confluence of the Yangtze and Wanhe Rivers

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Abstract

The Yangtze finless porpoise is a subspecies of narrow-ridged finless porpoise endemic to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the adjoining Poyang and Dongting Lakes. With the depletion of fish stocks in the Yangtze River in recent decades, food availability has become the most important factor affecting the survival of this subspecies. Despite this, the relationships between fish community and occurrences of porpoise are far from being fully understood. Therefore, during September 2013 to August 2014, the occurrences of porpoise were investigated in confluence of the Yangtze and Wanhe Rivers; fish community was also surveyed synchronously in confluence and two adjacent transects. The results showed that (1) the confluence had maximum fish species richness, and the main dominant species was upper fish, while the other two transects were mainly dominated by demersal fish. ANOVA analyses showed that individual number and yield of upper fish which can be eaten by porpoise (upper edible fish) in the confluence were significantly higher than other two transects. (2) Average group size of the porpoise was 3.7 ± 1.8 individuals. The occurrences of porpoise in different seasons had great differences, and the porpoise was more likely to be detected in autumn and winter. (3) Fish community had significant effects on occurrences of porpoise, and the main influencing factors were fish species richness, individual number, and yield of edible fish, especially the upper edible fish. The results of this study will have important implications for the conservation of porpoise.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jingguo Wang and Jialei Li for their helps in fieldwork. This work was supported by the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation of Hong Kong (AW05_1341) and the Doctoral Research Foundation of Anqing Normal University, China (K05000130032).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Science, Anqing Normal University, Anqing, 246011, China

    Xiaoke Zhang, Daoping Yu, Huili Wang, Minmin Chen, Feng Tao & Zunrong Song

  2. College of Resources and Environment, Anqing Normal University, Anqing, 246011, China

    An Wan

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  1. Xiaoke Zhang
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  2. Daoping Yu
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  3. Huili Wang
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  4. An Wan
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  5. Minmin Chen
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  6. Feng Tao
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  7. Zunrong Song
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Correspondence to Xiaoke Zhang or Daoping Yu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Zhang, X., Yu, D., Wang, H. et al. Effects of fish community on occurrences of Yangtze finless porpoise in confluence of the Yangtze and Wanhe Rivers. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 9524–9533 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4102-x

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