Spatial–temporal patterns of fish trophic guilds in a freshwater river wetland ecosystem of northeastern China

Abstract Muling River, situated amidst cultivated lands in Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China, has long been subjected to sand‐digging activities, resulting in severe damage to its riverbed. However, little research has been conducted on the impact of this disturbance on the status of fish co...

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Main Authors: Xu Sun, Kai Wang, Ge Zhang, Han Ren, Hongxian Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-07-01
Series:Ecology and Evolution
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11711
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author Xu Sun
Kai Wang
Ge Zhang
Han Ren
Hongxian Yu
author_facet Xu Sun
Kai Wang
Ge Zhang
Han Ren
Hongxian Yu
author_sort Xu Sun
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Muling River, situated amidst cultivated lands in Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China, has long been subjected to sand‐digging activities, resulting in severe damage to its riverbed. However, little research has been conducted on the impact of this disturbance on the status of fish community structure and trophic guilds in this river. In this study, environmental factors, fish community structure, and fish trophic guild biomass distribution patterns from the Muling River basin were investigated among seasons (spring, summer, and autumn) and sections (upper, middle, and lower stream) in 2015 and 2017. During the six sampling times periods, 46 species of five orders and 12 families of fish were classified into seven trophic guilds. Fish species number and biomass were higher upper reaches of the watershed. The insectivores (16.26%), phytoplanktivores (10.09%), benthivores (40.17%), and omnivores (11.86%) were the dominant trophic guilds. We found that fish trophic guilds biomass and environmental factors such as transparency, water depth, pH value, total phosphorus, and chemical oxygen demand were highest in the upper section compared to other sections. Variation partitioning revealed that fish trophic guilds biomass was influenced more by environmental factors (61.2%), followed by section (0.7%) and season (0.1%). Partial RDA ordination showed that fish trophic guilds were positively correlated with water depth and transparency, while negative with turbidity. This study underscores the importance of considering trophic guilds of freshwater fishes to inform management strategies in regions experiencing significant environmental change.
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spelling doaj-art-a24cca8643be4a1cab7fbd8ab5b3fdf02025-08-20T02:50:48ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582024-07-01147n/an/a10.1002/ece3.11711Spatial–temporal patterns of fish trophic guilds in a freshwater river wetland ecosystem of northeastern ChinaXu Sun0Kai Wang1Ge Zhang2Han Ren3Hongxian Yu4Key Laboratory of Applied Biology and Aquaculture of Northern Fishes in Liaoning Province, College of Fisheries and Life Science Dalian Ocean University Dalian Liaoning ChinaNortheast Institute of Geography and Agroecology Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun Jilin ChinaDepartment of Ecology Hebei University of Environmental Engineering Qinhuangdao Hebei ChinaCollege of Life and Environmental Science Wenzhou University Wenzhou Zhejiang ChinaWetland Biodiversity Conservation and Research Center, College of Wildlife and Protected Area Northeast Forestry University Harbin Heilongjiang ChinaAbstract Muling River, situated amidst cultivated lands in Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China, has long been subjected to sand‐digging activities, resulting in severe damage to its riverbed. However, little research has been conducted on the impact of this disturbance on the status of fish community structure and trophic guilds in this river. In this study, environmental factors, fish community structure, and fish trophic guild biomass distribution patterns from the Muling River basin were investigated among seasons (spring, summer, and autumn) and sections (upper, middle, and lower stream) in 2015 and 2017. During the six sampling times periods, 46 species of five orders and 12 families of fish were classified into seven trophic guilds. Fish species number and biomass were higher upper reaches of the watershed. The insectivores (16.26%), phytoplanktivores (10.09%), benthivores (40.17%), and omnivores (11.86%) were the dominant trophic guilds. We found that fish trophic guilds biomass and environmental factors such as transparency, water depth, pH value, total phosphorus, and chemical oxygen demand were highest in the upper section compared to other sections. Variation partitioning revealed that fish trophic guilds biomass was influenced more by environmental factors (61.2%), followed by section (0.7%) and season (0.1%). Partial RDA ordination showed that fish trophic guilds were positively correlated with water depth and transparency, while negative with turbidity. This study underscores the importance of considering trophic guilds of freshwater fishes to inform management strategies in regions experiencing significant environmental change.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11711environmental filtersfishlongitudinal gradientsMuling River basintrophic guilds
spellingShingle Xu Sun
Kai Wang
Ge Zhang
Han Ren
Hongxian Yu
Spatial–temporal patterns of fish trophic guilds in a freshwater river wetland ecosystem of northeastern China
Ecology and Evolution
environmental filters
fish
longitudinal gradients
Muling River basin
trophic guilds
title Spatial–temporal patterns of fish trophic guilds in a freshwater river wetland ecosystem of northeastern China
title_full Spatial–temporal patterns of fish trophic guilds in a freshwater river wetland ecosystem of northeastern China
title_fullStr Spatial–temporal patterns of fish trophic guilds in a freshwater river wetland ecosystem of northeastern China
title_full_unstemmed Spatial–temporal patterns of fish trophic guilds in a freshwater river wetland ecosystem of northeastern China
title_short Spatial–temporal patterns of fish trophic guilds in a freshwater river wetland ecosystem of northeastern China
title_sort spatial temporal patterns of fish trophic guilds in a freshwater river wetland ecosystem of northeastern china
topic environmental filters
fish
longitudinal gradients
Muling River basin
trophic guilds
url https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11711
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