The Last of the Leviathans

Biodiversity and the Three Gorges Reservoir: a troubled marriage

“…This barrage, located only 38 kilometres downstream from the Three Gorges Dam, caused large declines in the populations of three endemic, ancient, and nationally protected fish species Downloaded by [University of Otago] at 03:21 03 January 2015 (Table 4), due to the fragmentation of their populations and the interruption of the migratory routes to their original spawning grounds (Dudgeon 2000;Xie P 2003): the Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis), Yangtze sturgeon (A. dabryanus), and Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius). The last of these, one of only two species of paddlefish in the world, may be on the verge of extinction since its presence has not been reported in recent years (Stone 2007;Turvey et al 2007). The Three Gorges Dam will constitute a new obstacle for the migration of these fish and will probably destroy the small, secondary spawning grounds formed after the Gezhouba Dam became operational Zhuang et al 1997;Xie P 2003;Zhang S-M et al 2003).…”

Colossal Aggregations of Giant Alien Freshwater Fish as a Potential Biogeochemical Hotspot

“…Here, we report the consistent occurrence of previously undocumented and colossal aggregations of a giant alien freshwater predator (Wels catfish, Silurus glanis ). This species is the world's third largest and Europe's largest freshwater fish, originates from Eastern Europe and has been introduced westward [4], [5].…”

Dietary breadth and trophic position of introduced European catfish Silurus glanis in the River Tarn (Garonne River basin), southwest France

“…European catfish Silurus glanis L (hereafter catfish) is the world's third largest (and the largest European) species (Stone 2007). Native to eastern Europe and western Asia, catfish has been widely introduced outside its native range due to its popularity as a sport fish and in aquaculture (Copp et al 2009), making catfish an intriguing model to study the trophic ecology of large-bodied, non-native top predators.…”