Author(s): Xiao Chu; Zhonglian Jiang; Huan Lei; Jianqun Guo

Linked Author(s): Zhonglian Jiang

Keywords: Fish diversity; Inland waterway transit capacity; The Yangtze River; Inland shipping

Abstract: The Yangtze river plays a significant role in the development of inland shipping, flood control, irrigation, power generation and conservation of aquatic organisms. However, the extensive human activities (e. g. hydraulic projects, inland shipping) have altered the river habitats. This paper analyzed the characteristics of fish diversity in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River based on the ecological survey data between 2011 and 2019. The vessel traffic flow and waterway maintenance dimension has been adopted to represent the development status of waterborne transport. The impacts of waterborne transport on fish diversity is explored through the method of correlation analysis. The results show that diversity indices in the middle reaches increased with the decreasing vertical gradient. On the temporal scale, fish diversity shows a decreasing trend in 2015-2019. A significant decreasing trend of Shannon-Wiener (approximately 2.22 in contrast with 2.65 of 2015) has been observed in the Jingzhou segment. There is still a threat to the survival of fish in the river. The correlation analysis results show that the upgrade of the waterway transit capacity has an impact on the river ecology. Significant correlation between waterway-related indicators and fish diversity indexes have been observed. More specifically, the vessel traffic flow had the largest positive correlation with the Shannon-Wiener index (coefficient=0.89) and the waterway width was negatively correlated with Shannon-Wiener (coefficient=-0.66). Considering the protection and restoration of aquatic ecosystem, the impacts of inland waterway development and vessel traffic flow should be cautiously investigated.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/978-90-833476-1-5_iahr40wc-p0316-cd

Year: 2023