Spatial and Temporal Diversity of Fishes at Wuzhizhou Island in the South China Sea Based on Environmental DNA

Wuzhizhou Island (WZZ) is one of the most mature tourism islands on the coast of the South China Sea, and its surrounding waters are rich in tropical coral reef fishes. Tourism could affect marine biodiversity, especially the coral reef fish community. In order to understand the species diversity of...

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Main Authors: Ting Jiang, Kun Cao, Xin Wang, Rui Xi, Chongzhao Wang, Rui Yang, Wei Yang, Zhenhua Ma, Yingchun Xing
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Diversity
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/12/712
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author Ting Jiang
Kun Cao
Xin Wang
Rui Xi
Chongzhao Wang
Rui Yang
Wei Yang
Zhenhua Ma
Yingchun Xing
author_facet Ting Jiang
Kun Cao
Xin Wang
Rui Xi
Chongzhao Wang
Rui Yang
Wei Yang
Zhenhua Ma
Yingchun Xing
author_sort Ting Jiang
collection DOAJ
description Wuzhizhou Island (WZZ) is one of the most mature tourism islands on the coast of the South China Sea, and its surrounding waters are rich in tropical coral reef fishes. Tourism could affect marine biodiversity, especially the coral reef fish community. In order to understand the species diversity of fish surrounding WZZ, environmental DNA (eDNA) samples were collected from six sampling sites around the island, located in the core and non-core tourism areas, respectively, from 2022 to 2023. In total, 188 fish species, belonging to 124 genera, 63 families and 17 orders, were detected using eDNA method. The Perciformes contained the highest number of species (<i>n</i> = 130, 69.15% of total number). Compared to traditional fishing nets, eDNA could provide more information on fish species. The results indicated that species richness and Margalef’s index were higher at the sampling sites in the core area of tourism of WZZ, which maybe relevant to tourism-based provisioning. By contrast, the Shannon–Wiener index, Pielou’s index and dominant species of fish did not display significant differences between core and non-core tourism areas. On the basis of the results of the β-diversity index, the differences in fish communities had a closer relationship to geographical location. Furthermore, there were obvious differences in fish communities in different seasons, which may be attributed to the influence of ocean currents.
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spelling doaj-art-c95d956684b04b5da13e838d404890912025-08-20T02:00:22ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182024-11-01161271210.3390/d16120712Spatial and Temporal Diversity of Fishes at Wuzhizhou Island in the South China Sea Based on Environmental DNATing Jiang0Kun Cao1Xin Wang2Rui Xi3Chongzhao Wang4Rui Yang5Wei Yang6Zhenhua Ma7Yingchun Xing8National Demonstration Center for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, ChinaHainan Fisheries Innovation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Sanya 572024, ChinaNational Demonstration Center for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, ChinaNational Demonstration Center for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, ChinaNational Demonstration Center for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, ChinaTropical Aquaculture Research and Development Center, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Sanya 572018, ChinaNational Engineering Research Center for Inland Waterway Regulation, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Ecological Waterway, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400044, ChinaTropical Aquaculture Research and Development Center, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Sanya 572018, ChinaHainan Fisheries Innovation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Sanya 572024, ChinaWuzhizhou Island (WZZ) is one of the most mature tourism islands on the coast of the South China Sea, and its surrounding waters are rich in tropical coral reef fishes. Tourism could affect marine biodiversity, especially the coral reef fish community. In order to understand the species diversity of fish surrounding WZZ, environmental DNA (eDNA) samples were collected from six sampling sites around the island, located in the core and non-core tourism areas, respectively, from 2022 to 2023. In total, 188 fish species, belonging to 124 genera, 63 families and 17 orders, were detected using eDNA method. The Perciformes contained the highest number of species (<i>n</i> = 130, 69.15% of total number). Compared to traditional fishing nets, eDNA could provide more information on fish species. The results indicated that species richness and Margalef’s index were higher at the sampling sites in the core area of tourism of WZZ, which maybe relevant to tourism-based provisioning. By contrast, the Shannon–Wiener index, Pielou’s index and dominant species of fish did not display significant differences between core and non-core tourism areas. On the basis of the results of the β-diversity index, the differences in fish communities had a closer relationship to geographical location. Furthermore, there were obvious differences in fish communities in different seasons, which may be attributed to the influence of ocean currents.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/12/712α-diversityβ-diversitycoral reef fishestropical oceaneDNA
spellingShingle Ting Jiang
Kun Cao
Xin Wang
Rui Xi
Chongzhao Wang
Rui Yang
Wei Yang
Zhenhua Ma
Yingchun Xing
Spatial and Temporal Diversity of Fishes at Wuzhizhou Island in the South China Sea Based on Environmental DNA
Diversity
α-diversity
β-diversity
coral reef fishes
tropical ocean
eDNA
title Spatial and Temporal Diversity of Fishes at Wuzhizhou Island in the South China Sea Based on Environmental DNA
title_full Spatial and Temporal Diversity of Fishes at Wuzhizhou Island in the South China Sea Based on Environmental DNA
title_fullStr Spatial and Temporal Diversity of Fishes at Wuzhizhou Island in the South China Sea Based on Environmental DNA
title_full_unstemmed Spatial and Temporal Diversity of Fishes at Wuzhizhou Island in the South China Sea Based on Environmental DNA
title_short Spatial and Temporal Diversity of Fishes at Wuzhizhou Island in the South China Sea Based on Environmental DNA
title_sort spatial and temporal diversity of fishes at wuzhizhou island in the south china sea based on environmental dna
topic α-diversity
β-diversity
coral reef fishes
tropical ocean
eDNA
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/16/12/712
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