Author(s): Ryuto Koshiguchi; Mitsuhiro Aizu-Hirano; Satoquo Seino; Tetsuya Sado; Masaki Miya
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: Many dams were constructed in Japan during the nation’s period of high economic growth starting in the 1950s to provide supply for the increasing demand for water. Although dams provide benefits, people have come to realize that they also have negative impacts on river ecosystems. On the Itoshima Peninsula in Fukuoka Prefecture, a previous study (Inabe, 2016) found that more species were present in the Zuibaiji River, which has a dam, than in the Raizan River, which does not have one. That study compared only the total number of species and concluded that the Zuibaiji Dam had no effect on the river ecosystem. Detailed analysis has been recommended in order to more precisely understand the impacts of dams on river ecosystems. Thus, this study conducted environmental DNA metabarcoding at multiple sites in three rivers in the study area to better understand the impacts of the Zuibaiji Dam on fish fauna. Water samplings were conducted at four sites each on the Zuibaiji and Raizan, and five sites on the Ikisan. Total DNA was extracted and metabarcoding was performed using a MiSeq sequencer. This analysis found 100 operational taxonomical units (OTUs) in total with38,50, and 57 in the Raizan, Ikisan, and Zuibaiji, respectively (note double counting). Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis showed that fish fauna of the Zuibaiji were similar to the Raizan. This study found no negative effect of the Zuibaiji Dam on fish fauna of the Zuibaiji, but continuous monitoring of fish fauna is recommended in order to grasp the impacts of the dam on the river ecosystem over time.
Year: 2018