Impact of the Three Gorges Dam on the spawning stock and natural reproduction of Chinese sturgeon in Changjiang River, China

Gao, Xin; Lin, Pengcheng; Li, Mingzheng; Duan, Zhonghua; Liu, Huanzhang

doi:10.1007/s00343-016-5027-z

Cited by 27 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The hydro‐environment required by Chinese sturgeon has also been dramatically influenced (Gao, Lin, Li, Duan, & Liu, ; Wang & Xia, ; Zhang, Yang, Wei, Du, & Wang, ; Zhang et al, ), resulting in reduction of spawning ground. Flow regime alterations caused by the TGD operation have greatly decreased median monthly flows during the spawning season, especial in October (Table ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A framework to assess the cumulative impacts of dams on hydrological regime: A case study of the Yangtze River

Wang

Lewis

et al. 2017

Hydrological Processes

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Comparisons of flow time series between preimpact and postimpact periods have been widely used to determine hydrological alterations caused by reservoir operation. However, preimpact and postimpact periods might also be characterized by different climatological properties, a problem that has not been well addressed. In this study, we propose a framework to assess the cumulative impact of dams on hydrological regime over time. The impacts of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) on the flow regime of the Yangtze River were investigated using this framework. We reconstructed the unregulated flow series to compare with the regulated flow series during the same period (2010 to 2015). Eco-surplus and eco-deficit and the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) parameters were used to examine hydrological regime change. Among 32 IHA parameters, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and principal component analysis identified the October median flow, 1-and 3-day maximum flows, 1-day minimum flow, and rise rate as representative indicators of hydrological alterations. Eco-surplus and eco-deficit showed that the reservoir also changed the seasonal regime of the flows by reducing autumn flow and increasing winter flow. Changes in annual extreme flows and October flows lead to negative ecological implications downstream of the TGD. Ecological considerations should be taken into account during operation of the TGD in order to mitigate the negative effects on the fluvial ecosystem in the middle reach of Yangtze River. The framework proposed here could be a robust method to assess the cumulative impacts of reservoir operation over time.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A framework to assess the cumulative impacts of dams on hydrological regime: A case study of the Yangtze River

Wang

Lewis

et al. 2017

Hydrological Processes

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“…In the past, a The acoustic identification method of Chinese sturgeon from echograms should be improved. Currently, the main ground for the identification is that the adult Chinese sturgeon is large, thus its TS should be stronger than the TS values of common river fishes [17][18][19][20][21][22]. In fact, other large body fishes in the Yangtze River, such as the four major Chinese carps, can grow up to 131.1 cm in body length [33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, only the hydroacoustic methods seem to be applicable to survey and study the adult population of Chinese sturgeon in the Yangtze River. On the other hand, future hydroacoustic surveys should not only be constructed in a zigzag mobile survey [17][18][19][20][21][22] or a stationary point survey [37], but also long-time fixed cross section monitoring is highly recommended. As the fish is a migrating species, fixed cross section monitoring in its migration route could be highly efficient with low cost [38].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The studies mainly use side-scan sonar [11,[13][14][15] or Dual-frequency IDentification SONar (DIDSON, so-called acoustic camera) [12,16]. For Chinese sturgeon, the hydroacoustic methods have been widely used to study the spatial distribution [17,18], the abundance estimation [19][20][21][22], and spawning habitat characteristics [7,23] in the Yangtze River. Since 1997, the numbers of the adult Chinese sturgeons below the Gezhouba Dam (in about 30 km reach) were assessed by echosounder surveys and the results were issued officially [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Acoustic Target Strength of the Endangered Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) by Ex Situ Measurements and Theoretical Calculations

Zhang

Wang³

et al. 2018

Applied Sciences

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Featured Application: Authors are encouraged to provide a concise description of the specific application or a potential application of the work. This section is not mandatory. Abstract:The Chinese sturgeon, Acipenser sinensis, is a large anadromous and highly endangered protected species. The assessment of its breeding population in the Yangtze River is critically important for effective management and population preservation. Currently, hydroacoustic methods have been widely used to study the adult sturgeons in the river, whereas the acoustic target strength (TS) characteristics of the species have not been studied. In this study, the TS of Chinese sturgeon was carefully evaluated both by ex situ measurements and theoretical calculations. Six Chinese sturgeons (Body Length (BL): 74.0−92.6 cm) were measured by a 199 kHz split echosounder in a 10-m deep net cage. The computed tomography of a Chinese sturgeon (BL: 110.0 cm) was conducted and the Kirchhoff ray mode (KRM) method was used to estimate the theoretical TS. As a result, the mean ex situ TS range of the six specimens was from −26.9 to −31.4 dB, which was very close to the KRM estimation (~1 dB difference). Then, the KRM method was used to predict the TS of Chinese sturgeon as a function of BL in six frequencies commonly used in freshwater environments and to estimate the TS of a representative adult Chinese sturgeon (250 cm) as a function of frequency and tilt angle. This study can provide a good basis for future hydroacoustic studies on the critically endangered Chinese sturgeon.

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“…Previous studies have shown that the optimal water temperature for spawning is 16–20 °C (Wei, ). Since the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) in 2003, the spawning dates of the Chinese sturgeon have been delayed 30–40 days because of the “temperature hysteresis effect” (Gao, Lin, Li, Duan, & Liu, ). In 2013, there was no evidence that the Chinese sturgeon had spawned below the GD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal and temporal water temperature patterns in the Yangtze River and its influence on spawning of the Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensisGray 1835)

Chang

Gao

Danley

et al. 2017

River Research & Apps

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In this study, water temperature longitudinal and temporal patterns were investigated in four locations of the Yangtze River to identify their influence on spawning of the Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis Gray 1835). The results showed that, historically and YC (9.1-25.9°C), were relatively stable and had smaller amplitude than the lower two ones, CLJ (6.0-30.0°C) and HK (5.9-30.8°C). On the basis of the physiological effects for Chinese sturgeon, we defined three water temperature ranges: stressing (>23°C), holding (23-20°C), and spawning (20-16°C). We found that the upper two locations with successful spawning of the Chinese sturgeon (PS and YC) had short or no stressing period but long holding and spawning periods. Currently (2013)(2014)(2015)(2016), the impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir increases the time for water temperature decreasing to 20°C at the current spawning ground (YC) in autumn, which increases the stressing and holding periods, and has significant negative impact on the spawning of Chinese sturgeon. Nonetheless, considering the very high stressing temperature and the short duration of the holding and spawning periods at CLJ and HK, we propose that YC is still the most suitable spawning location for the Chinese sturgeon.

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Impact of the Three Gorges Dam on the spawning stock and natural reproduction of Chinese sturgeon in Changjiang River, China

Cited by 27 publications

References 25 publications

A framework to assess the cumulative impacts of dams on hydrological regime: A case study of the Yangtze River

A framework to assess the cumulative impacts of dams on hydrological regime: A case study of the Yangtze River

Acoustic Target Strength of the Endangered Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) by Ex Situ Measurements and Theoretical Calculations

Longitudinal and temporal water temperature patterns in the Yangtze River and its influence on spawning of the Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensisGray 1835)

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