Conserving karst cavefish diversity in Southwest China

Abstract

Subterranean aquatic biodiversity loss has exceeded that of surface aquatic systems, and cavefish are a predominant indicator of biodiversity loss. The karst subsurface environment and its biodiversity are generally considered to be fragile and extremely sensitive to environmental disturbances such as hydroelectric projects. Subterranean biodiversity is faced with several threats, such as: hydrostation mining, domestic wastewater etc., and protecting and managing these unique and endemic species presents several challenges of wild population survive and monitoring population dynamic. The impact of infrastructure policies on cavefish species in China is used as an example to analyse the current and potential threats to cavefish species and karst subterranean habitats in China. Any strategy employed to conserve cavefish in China should include strengthening research on cavefish, including formal descriptions of taxa and listing these species on the IUCN Red List, as well as national and local lists of species for conservation. Such knowledge can be used to establish a conservation strategy for cavefish and subsurface biodiversity.