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River–lake connectivity, wetland, and human stress factors shape fish diversity (alpha and beta) patterns in the middle and lower Yangtze River, China

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Abstract

Context

Alterations of landscapes and riverscapes by humans have fundamentally altered patterns in freshwater biodiversity throughout the world’s aquatic systems. Past research has demonstrated precipitous declines in small- and medium-sized streams, with much less attention given to patterns and drivers of fish biodiversity in larger riverine systems.

Objectives

By examining alpha and beta diversity of fishes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China, we aimed to address the following question: What is the role of river–lake connectivity, wetland extent, and human stress factors (e.g., urbanization, fishing pressure, navigation, and shoreline modifications) in shaping fish alpha (species richness) and beta (species nestedness and turnover) diversity?

Methods

We examined associations among three classifications of fish assemblage data (i.e., all species, nonmigratory species, and migratory species) sampled along gradients of river–lake connectivity (i.e., Dongting and Poyang lakes), wetland extent, and a suite of human stress factors (urbanization, fishing pressure, navigation, shoreline modification). We conducted redundancy analyses and distance-based redundancy analyses to facilitate mechanistic interpretations of the associations between the explanatory variables and fish alpha and beta diversity.

Results

Longitudinally from the middle to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, fish alpha diversity showed marked decreases while fish beta diversity increased. River segments with greater levels of human impact were generally associated with reduced fish species richness, while segments with higher wetland extent and greater river–lake connectivity tended to support greater species richness. River–lake connectivity, wetland extent, and fishing pressure largely influenced total fish beta diversity. Species nestedness was primarily associated with amount of wetlands, and exhibited the strongest associations with nonmigratory fish species. Turnover was primarily associated with river–lake connectivity (mainly Poyang Lake), especially for migratory species.

Conclusions

Our analyses demonstrate the roles of river–lake connectivity, wetland extent, and human stress factors in shaping patterns of alpha and beta diversity for migratory and nonmigratory fishes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Fish diversity conservation in this large river ecosystem calls for protecting hydrological connectivity and wetland habitats, along with reducing fishing pressure. Results from this study will help better inform fish conservation efforts in the Yangtze River and have implications towards other large river systems of the world.

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Data availability

All data have been presented in the manuscript and the supplementary information. The Data Center of Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences: www.ihb.ac.cn will store the raw data.

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Acknowledgements

The National Key R & D Program of China (2019YFD0901203), Chinese Academy of Sciences (ZDRW-ZS-2017-3-2), and State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology (2022FBZ02) provided financial support for the current study. Ms. Wei Xin and several undergraduate student interns provided field and laboratory assistance.

Funding

This study was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, 2019YFD0901203, Chinese Academy of Sciences, ZDRW-ZS-2017-3-2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, China

    Fangyuan Xiong, Wenqi Gao & Yushun Chen

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Fangyuan Xiong & Yushun Chen

  3. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48823, USA

    Dana M. Infante

  4. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Julian D. Olden

  5. International Joint Commission, Detroit, MI, 48232, USA

    Lizhu Wang

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  1. Fangyuan Xiong
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  2. Dana M. Infante
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  4. Wenqi Gao
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  5. Lizhu Wang
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Contributions

FX and YC conceived and designed this study. FX, WG, and YC obtained the data. FX conducted data analysis and developed the early draft. FX, DMI, JDO, LW, and YC made revisions. This manuscript has been approved by all the authors for submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yushun Chen.

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Xiong, F., Infante, D.M., Olden, J.D. et al. River–lake connectivity, wetland, and human stress factors shape fish diversity (alpha and beta) patterns in the middle and lower Yangtze River, China. Landsc Ecol 38, 3809–3824 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-023-01616-y

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