Chinese

Sturgeo
n
By Kevin and Derek
1. Characteristics and
Population
 Physical Characteristics

● Basic Info
- Scientific Name: Acipenser sinensis
- IUCN Conservation Status: CR(Critically Endangered)
- Diet: Carnivore
- Adult Size: Up tp 5 meters
- Adult Weight: Up to 500 kilograms

Chinese Sturgeon (Zeb Hogan,

n.d.)
Habitat and Distribution
● Habitat
Yangtze River, Qiantang River, Minjiang River and
Pearl River(all are located in China)

● Distribution
Far East Asian Region, major coastal river from East
China Sea to Yellow Sea

Yangtze River
( jejim/Shutterstock,
n.d.)
 Behaviour

● Anadromous
Chinese Sturgeon will stay in the river about a year,
reaching their spawning ground at the upstream of the
rivers around the second October

● Spawning Ground
Rapid water flow with gravel and sand
Population Range and Migration
Pattern

Life history range of the anadromous Chinese sturgeon:

the species lives in the continental shelf of the west Pacific
and spawns in the rivers (Zhang, H., Li, J., Wang, C., Wang,
C., Wu, J., Du, H., … Kang, M., 2018)
 Age Structure and Genetic
Diversity
● Age Structure ● Genetic Diversity
According to
Wan&Fang (2003)’s
findings, the genetic
diversity increased among
the wild sturgeons; while
the farmed ones
possessed fewer genetic
variations

(Wang, L., Huang, Z., Ren, J., & Li, H.,

2018)
2. Population
Growth
 Historical Population Size
● Legend
- Black: New Group Population
- Red: Old Group Population
- Green: Total Female Population
- Azure: Total Male Population
- Cyan: Total Group Population

● Analysis
The total group population of Chinese
Sturgeon remained steady before 1980. In 1981, the Chinese Sturgeon Distribution
Historical Data and Prediction
Gezhou Dam was built which disable the sturgeons to from 1970 to 2020(Wang &
swim back to the upstream for reproduction, which Huang, 2016.)
increased the fishing amount and resulted a dip in
population. Commercial fishing of this species was
banned in 1983, so it surged to its carrying capacity
then decreased due to accidental fishing and natural
Current Population and Tracking
Method

The most recent estimated data available

is in 2019, where there was only 16 Chinese
Sturgeon alive in the Yangtze River.
The Yangtze River Basin Management
Department uses underwater sonars to
measure the population.
 Extinct in the Future?

Yes. As the wild population continues to decrease,

Chinese sturgeon could be disappearing in the nature.
And the farmed population of the species would possibly
decrease due the the loss of genetic diversity and
increase of inheritance diseases.
 Population Limiting Factors

- Genetic diversity

loss

- Less offspring

produced (Michigan Sea Grant, n.d.)

- Long maturation

period
3. Species
Interaction
 Species Interaction

● As predator, they consume:

- Any aquatic animal that can be swallowed
- Insects, larvae and organic compound when born at upstream
- Small fish, shrimps and crabs when heading to the ocean and in the
ocean
- Food scarcity does not seemed to be a problem to Chinese
Sturgeon

● As prey, they are consumed by:

- Mainy human, due to their delicious meat and egg
- This cause the wild Chinese Sturgeon population a sudden
decline back in the 1980s
4. Human
Influences
Local and Global Human Influence
● Food
Nationally and Internationally
Whole fish and caviar

● Pets / Horticulture
(Sturgeons in China and their conservation, 2019)
Nationally

● Research
Nationally and Internationally
Important species for the
evolution of fishes (140 million
years old)
Human Influences Continued
● Overfishing
● Takes a long time for population to naturally
restock due to long maturation period (14 years
before sexually mature)

● Alternated Habitats
● The construction of the Gezhouba Dam
blocked the migration path for the sturgeons
between the ocean and the Yangtze River
where it gives birth to youngs.

● Artificial Pollution
● Chemicals and toxins from effluents and
sewages decrease the viability of the eggs
and mating frequency of the Chinese
sturgeons.
5. Conservation Biology
 Conservation
Programmes
● Establishments of
Conversation Area
Strict harvest limitation along Yangtze
River

● Class I State Protected

Animal
Only captured for scientific purposes
in very small
quantities

● Closure of Commercial
Fishing

● Restocking Programme of
 Long-term
Protection Plan
● Spread awareness about the critically
endangered status of the species.
● Reduce local sewage and
industrial/agricultural effluent output into
rivers.
● Limit the introduction of new invasive species
(stricter regulations and more fines for
violations).
（ hubei.gov.cn, 2015) ● Lower carbon emissions and slow down the
process of climate change.
 Biological Primitiveness
14o million years old species!
Importance “Living fossil” for taxonomy and
study of evolution 。

Wildlife
Conservation
Helps scientists to
understand methods of
sustainable wildlife resource
exploitation and maintain
ecological balance.
Thanks For
Reading!
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