Ecological studies were carried out in the remaining habitat for medaka (Oryzias latipes), a marsh in the suburbs of Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province, China. Sewage released from villages increases the nutrient levels in open water areas of the marsh, while in cattail (Typha angustifolia) and reed (Phragmites communis) beds the nutrient levels are decreased. There are fewer zooplanktons in the cattail and reed beds than in the open water areas. Sampling fishes with trap nets showed that medaka lived in dense populations in the cattail and reed beds, while the other three fish species, wild goldfish (Carassius auratus), topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva), and mud loach (Misgurnus bipartitus), occupied the open water areas in the marsh. A little amount of paradise fish (Macropodus chinensis) was also found in the marsh. Japanese freshwater shrimps (Macrobrachium nipponense) were found only in the influx canal from waterworks. Indoor aquarium experiments showed that the wild medaka in this marsh was easily cultured with commercial feed similar to domesticated strains. Some ecological aspects of the medaka were discussed based on the observations of the fish in the marsh.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.