TITLE:
Microhabitat Use and Population Structure of a Chinese Kissing Loach, Leptobotia tchangi, in the North Tiaoxi River, China
AUTHORS:
Liangliang Huang, Jianhua Li, Yuichi Kano, Tatsuro Sato, Jyunichi Kitamura, Yukihiro Shimatani, Zhiqiang Wu
KEYWORDS:
Biodiversity Conservation, Fish Population, Riffle-Pool Structure, Microhabitat
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.4 No.7,
May
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: Fundamental ecological information on the
Chinese kissing loach (Leptobotia tchangi)
was collected in the North Tiaoxi River, China, in September 2010. The
length-frequency distribution calculated using FiSAT software showed the
population structure of this kissing loach could be classified into four age
groups suggesting that the life span of the loach should be 3 - 4 years. A stepwise multiple linear
regression analysis revealed that the density of this kissing loach was
significantly and positively correlated with water velocity, while the body
size was significantly and positively correlated with river bed pebble size. It
suggested that water velocity and variation of pebble size play important roles in the full life history of this kissing
loach. Thus, maintenance of the rapid current and variety of substrate are
essential for the conservation of this species under the present conditions in the river,
which also can support river restoration being in harmony with survival of this
kissing loach.