Taxonomic diversity pattern and composition of fish species in the upper reaches of Ganjiang River, Jiangxi, China.

Zimo Shi,Jing Yang,Maolin Hu,Haijun Wu,Jianming Zhang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0241762

Zimo Shi, Jing Yang + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241762

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Abstract

Maintaining fish diversity is essential for environmental protection. To characterize the fish composition of the tributaries and mainstream in the upper reaches of the Ganjiang River, we identified seventy-five species of 15 families in 14 sampling sites. These data were analyzed using the inclusion index at the taxonomic level (TINCLi), the importance value index (IVI), the taxonomic diversity indices (Δ+ and Λ+), cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS). The results showed that the most common and dominant order was the Cypriniformes, represented most frequently by Hemiculter leucisculus among the sample sites. Most fishes were omnivorous, mountain stream or settled fish that lay sinking or viscid eggs. Most sites showed a trend of more discrete distribution from high latitude to low latitude. According to the taxonomic diversity indices, the fish taxonomic composition in the upper reaches of Ganjiang River is uneven. The Bray-Curtis resemblance matrix and nMDS showed that the habitats of the Ganjiang River were divided into four areas. The results will provide information needed for freshwater fish resource protection in the upper reaches of the Ganjiang River.

Highlights

Selection, drift and dispersal usually lead to different number of species and community size in different regions [1]
The river system of the Ganjiang River is complicated, the upper reaches charactered by mountainous streams of the river, the water flow of middle and lower reaches river is generally smooth, and the basin is characterized by mid-subtropical humid climate
75 species of fish belonging to 5 orders and 15 families were captured from the upper reaches of the Ganjiang River, represented 29.8% of the total for Jiangxi Province, total number of endemic species represented 22 and 16.5% of the total for Jiangxi Province

Summary

Introduction

Drift and dispersal usually lead to different number of species and community size in different regions [1]. Drift is random but has important potential effects, it plays an important role in small community, it can override the effects of selection, but in large community with strong selection, all drift effects will be covered by selection. Selection is usually the combined action of abiotic environment and biology [2]. The selection affecting community structure include environmental changes, habitats and anthropogenic influences, etc [3]. The direction of community dispersion is not homogenous. These factors can lead to the heterogeneity of community structure in different regions

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