Fish assemblages and longitudinal patterns in the headwater streams of the Chencun Reservoir in the Huangshan Area

Human activities significantly disrupt fish assemblage patterns and biodiversity in headwater streams. A study of three tributaries of the Chencun Reservoir in Huangshan found that severe human disturbances—such as urbanization, land-use changes, and river management—altered habitat conditions (e.g., water width, substrate, vegetation cover), leading to a decline in fish diversity and shifts in species composition. While less disturbed streams like Shuxi showed strong elevation-driven fish assemblage gradients, heavily impacted streams like Puxi and Maxi exhibited weakened or lost such patterns. Broadly distributed, tolerant species increased, while sensitive native species declined. The research highlights how sub-watershed-scale human interventions can degrade fish biodiversity and disrupt natural ecological gradients.

CHU Ling, 储玲, WANG Wenjian, 王文剑, YAN Lili, 闫莉莉, YAN Yunzhi, 严云志, ZHU Ren, 朱仁, & SI Chun, 司春. (2015). Fish assemblages and longitudinal patterns in the headwater streams of the Chencun Reservoir in the Huangshan Area. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 35(3). https://doi.org/10.5846/stxb201304140706