Variation in Reproductive Traits between Populations of Neosalanx taihuensis above and below the Three-Gorges Dam

• Main Authors: Gong, Wangbao, Wu, Lang, Liu, Jiashou, Xie, Shouqi, Li, Zhongjie, Murphy, Brian R., Xie, Songguang, Xie, SG, Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Hydrobiol, Key Lab Biodivers & Conservat Aquat Organisms, Wuhan 430072, Peoples R China
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Gadus-morhua; Atlantic Cod; Lake Fuxian; Gorges Dam; Investment; Fisheries; Reservoir; Ecology; Limnology; Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Marine & Freshwater Biology; atlantic cod; Gadus morhua
• Online Access: http://ir.ihb.ac.cn/handle/152342/7482

Reproductive characteristics of the spring spawning stock of Neosalanx taihuensis varied significantly between the populations in the Three-Gorges Reservoir (TGR) and in the Tian-e-zhou Oxbow (TEO, below the dam). Larger body size, higher condition, higher fecundity, and larger oocyte diameter of the spawning stock in the TGR indicated faster individual growth and higher reproductive investment of the TGR population than the TEO population. With higher population abundance associated with higher reproductive investment of N. taihuensis in the TGR than in the TEO population, we suggest that reproductive investment is an important factor regulating resource fluctuation of N. taihuensis populations. Reproductive characteristics of the spring spawning stock of Neosalanx taihuensis varied significantly between the populations in the Three-Gorges Reservoir (TGR) and in the Tian-e-zhou Oxbow (TEO, below the dam). Larger body size, higher condition, higher fecundity, and larger oocyte diameter of the spawning stock in the TGR indicated faster individual growth and higher reproductive investment of the TGR population than the TEO population. With higher population abundance associated with higher reproductive investment of N. taihuensis in the TGR than in the TEO population, we suggest that reproductive investment is an important factor regulating resource fluctuation of N. taihuensis populations.