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Life history traits and implications for conservation of rock carp Procypris rabaudi Tchang, an endemic fish in the upper Yangtze River, China

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Abstract

Rock carp is an endemic fish in the upper Yangtze River basin. Its populations have dramatically declined in the recent years due to human activities, such as overfishing and damming. In the present study, with the aim to give suggestions for better conservation, we investigated age, growth, and reproductive biology of the rock carp using samples collected between 2007 and 2013 from the Chishui River. The results indicate that there are no significant differences between the length–weight relationships of females and males (W = 0.015SL3.155). The von Bertalanffy growth curves computed by the observed length-at-age data could be expressed as L t  = 64.9(1 − e−0.101(t+0.217)). The estimated length at 50 % sexual maturity for males is 24.2 cm (approximately aged 4) and 37.0 cm for females. Female gonad analysis suggests that rock carp is a batch spawner, which can spawn at least twice during the reproductive season, from April to August. Standard length and age of 86.5 % individuals were below 25 cm and 4 years, respectively, indicating that the exploitation is too intensive and that populations are undergoing miniaturization. These data corroborate that a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors has caused a sharp decline in wild populations during recent years, calling for immediate design and implementation of conservation measures for this species.

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Acknowledgments

Funding support was provided by grants from the China Three Gorges Corporation (0799527 and 0799533) and the Three Gorges Project eco-environmental monitoring system (JJ [2013]-010). First, we thank F. Liu, M. R. Wang and those who anonymous helped with sampling in the field. Second, we thank H. X. Mu for help with improving the English text. We are particularly grateful to the editor and two anonymous reviewers, it is by their efforts that our article is even more complete.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Teng Wang, Xin Gao, Jun Wang, Sheng-Guo Dan & Huan-Zhang Liu

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Teng Wang & Jun Wang

  3. College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Ivan Jakovlić

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  1. Teng Wang
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Correspondence to Huan-Zhang Liu.

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Wang, T., Gao, X., Wang, J. et al. Life history traits and implications for conservation of rock carp Procypris rabaudi Tchang, an endemic fish in the upper Yangtze River, China. Fish Sci 81, 515–523 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-015-0872-9

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