What are the natural predators of the Yangtze sturgeon? Is overfishing in the Yangtze River a cause

Some animals have been exterminated because they cannot withstand natural predators, but the Yangtze sturgeon has no natural predators.

However, it was officially declared extinct on July 21, 2022. As a unique animal of the Yangtze River in China, the extinction of the Yangtze River white sturgeon also means that in the Yangtze River basin of China.

There will never be such a creature again, and this also means that there is one less animal species on the planet. However, such wild creatures were not eliminated due to the evolution of the earth, but were mainly extinct due to illegal fishing and habitat loss by humans. <>

The Yangtze white sturgeon is known as "black**", mainly due to the quality of its flesh and caviar.

It has high nutritional value and is welcomed by many consumers in the national and global markets. This high economic value has also led many people to fish a large number of Yangtze sturgeon in order to obtain excess economic benefits, and in the past, because the state did not realize the importance of the Yangtze white sturgeon, there was no relevant prohibition order. Therefore, in the vicinity of the Yangtze River basin, many residents will catch the Yangtze white sturgeon and sell it on a large scale, and overfishing has led to the lack of sufficient numbers of the Yangtze white sturgeon to breed, so this is also one of the important reasons for the extinction of the white sturgeon.

In addition, the construction of dams in the Yangtze River basin has led to the migration route of the Yangtze sturgeon, and the unsustainable sand mining has also destroyed the spawning grounds of the white sturgeon, thus leading to a gradual reduction of suitable habitats for the Yangtze white sturgeon. Without a suitable breeding ground, the number of white sturgeon is decreasing, and although many people hope to resurrect the Yangtze sturgeon through artificial breeding technology, there is little hope. Because the wild Yangtze white sturgeon does not have excellent breeding technology and hardware conditions, although there are captive-bred Yangtze white sturgeon, its survival time is relatively short, usually only 29 days.

Such a double blow also led to the Yangtze River Baixun, which gradually tended to perish.

Therefore, for the extinction of the Yangtze white sturgeon, it also gives us a warning effect, wild animals.

The conservation plan should be carried out in full swing, and the protection of wildlife cannot be delayed. For some precious and endangered wild animals, we must not only maintain ecological balance, but also maintain the diversity of life, so that wild animals can have a good habitat, so that they can continue to reproduce.

The natural predators of the Yangtze sturgeon can be said to be absent in the world today, and overfishing in the Yangtze River is one of the reasons for the extinction of the white sturgeon.

The size of the white sturgeon and its own development have no way to allow other animals to prey on it, these huge creatures actually have natural enemies, but the number of such natural enemies is very small, and it is difficult for people to see the traces of these creatures in their daily lives, which makes many people mistakenly think that this kind of creatures may not have natural enemies in the growth environment, but in fact, this is not the case, we are in the year when the epidemic came, many people had no way to go out to work but to stay at home obediently, And these creatures have also been saved, which also makes many people reflect on how much impact human beings have on the environment around them, in fact, it can be seen through such things. In just one year, everything has recovered, and even some animals that have been told of extinction have reappeared in people's field of vision, and this year human beings have no way to work normally, and there is no way to go out normally, this phenomenon shows to a certain extent that human beings have really caused a very serious impact on their surrounding environment, and in serious cases, they have also caused the extinction of these creatures, and all of this human beings really need to reflect on it.

In fact, the important reason for the extinction of this creature is that some poachers hunt these creatures without moderation, and the demand in the market is greater than the number of people caught, so that this creature eventually goes extinct.

The state has long imposed restrictions on the number of organisms that people catch, but the restrictions cannot be implemented on everyone, and many people want to make a lot of money by capturing these important creatures.

The natural predator of the Yangtze white sturgeon is humans. Overfishing, combined with environmental pollution in recent years, is the cause of the extinction of the Yangtze sturgeon.

The Yangtze white sturgeon has survived on the earth for hundreds of millions of years, and its size is very large, basically without natural enemies; I think overfishing in the Yangtze River is one of the reasons for the extinction of the Yangtze sturgeon.

Most of the natural enemies of sturgeon are copperfish, and most of the reasons for the extinction of white sturgeon are habitat changes caused by overfishing and water quality changes along the Yangtze River.

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Causes of the extinction of the Yangtze sturgeon.

Water pollution**: Water pollution is one of the most worrisome problems, affecting the habitat of the Yangtze sturgeon and hindering its normal reproduction.

Fishery activities**: Fishery sourcing activities are also an important reason, which can lead to the fishing of other species in the Yangtze River, and the probability of catching or remaining in the Yangtze white sturgeon should not be underestimated.

Riverbed destruction**: Riverbed destruction is also an important factor, as it destroys the habitat of the Yangtze sturgeon, thus depriving them of a place to live.

Fry introduction**: The Yangtze sturgeon is also affected by the introduction of fry, which competes with the Yangtze sturgeon for food, causing damage to the Yangtze eggplant.

Early Wild Nalitre Animal Conservation**: Early wildlife conservation was also a cause for its extinction, as wildlife conservation technology was relatively backward at that time, which could not effectively resist the hazards of the external environment, which led to the extinction of the Yangtze white sturgeon.

In short, attention must be paid to avoid the recurrence of such extinction events. I hope that everyone can reduce the damage to the natural environment and strive to realize the ideal of harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

The status quo of dams, man-made fishing, and illegal fishing.

The first reason for the extinction of the Yangtze sturgeon is the current situation of dams, because the damming of the river will change the hydrological characteristics of the upstream and downstream, in this case, many aquatic organisms living here cannot adapt to the new environment, and will inevitably go extinct, the Yangtze white sturgeon is the best example.

Due to its very large size, the white sturgeon still needs a relatively large space to move, and as a semi-anadymic migratory fish, it needs to go to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to spawn and feed and grow in the middle and lower reaches. So the construction of Gezhouba has undoubtedly sent them to a dead end, and the freedom-loving Yangtze sturgeon cannot bear to see its living space getting smaller and smaller without losing its spawning grounds.

The second reason is human fishing, in fact, according to past fishing records, the Yangtze sturgeon also tried to struggle, they gathered on both sides of the dam after the construction of Gezhouba to try to cross, but were bound by human fishing nets.

The third reason is the illegal fishing in the Yangtze River in the past few years, as the top of the Yangtze River food chain, the Yangtze white sturgeon still eats a very large amount. Therefore, people used electric shock fishing in the past, and the fishing of nets and other behaviors have greatly reduced the food source of the Yangtze white sturgeon, and in this case, many white sturgeon should have starved to death.

Morphological characteristics of the Yangtze white sturgeon

The body of the white sturgeon is fusiform, slightly flattened in the front, stout in the middle, and slightly flattened laterally in the posterior. The head is extremely long, more than half the length of the body, and it is covered with plum-shaped traps. The ventral surface of the head of the snout can be retracted freely.

There is a record in ancient books that "the tuna mouth is under the jaw, and the cartilage with a long nose is also", which makes a concise summary of the ecological characteristics of the white sturgeon. the upper and lower jaws have small sharp teeth; A pair of snout whiskers, short, located on the ventral surface. The eyes are small, with a pair of tiny whiskers, located on the ventral surface of the snout.

The mouth fissure is large, arcuate, elastic, and located on the ventral surface of the head. There are 2 external nostrils on each side of the head. The entire surface of the epithelial membrane of the head is densely covered with many sensory nerve cells in the shape of plum blossoms.

The lateral line of the body is intact, the tail is crooked, the upper lobe is long, the lower lobe is short, the dorsal surface of the upper lobe has spinous scales, and the body surface is smooth and scaleless. The upper caudal fin has 8 prismatic scale plates, which extend posteriorly to the caudal fin upper lobe. The dorsal fin begins after the pelvic fin and consists of unbranched rays.

The caudal fin is crooked, the upper lobe is well developed, and the anterior margin has a row of spinous scales. The intestinal tube is short, and there are 7 or 8 spiral valves in the intestine. The head, dorsal body, and caudal fin are blue-gray, and the abdomen is white.

The first is illegal fishing, in the past, human beings would catch a large number of Yangtze white sturgeon for economic interests, and at this time the state did not issue a clear prohibition order.

Residents around the Yangtze River basin have fished for profit, and this phenomenon is one of the direct causes of the extinction of wild white sturgeon.

The second is habitat loss, with dams built in the Yangtze River basin blocking their migration routes, unsustainable sand and gravel mining destroying their spawning grounds, and habitat loss.

There is less hope for the resurrection of the Yangtze sturgeon. The reason for the extinction of the white sturgeon is that it is no longer adapted to today's environment.

The white sturgeon, an ancient species that has survived for more than 100 million years, prefers a cooler environment, and has become extinct due to environmental changes caused by human activities and other factors.

Yes, the white sturgeon was officially declared extinct on July 21, 2022 in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Globally Threatened Species Update. The Yangtze River is a waterway, and the white sturgeon, which is a large fish, is more likely to be affected by human activities.

External sand and gravel mining, hydropower stations, dams, etc., hinder the smooth swimming and migration, and even hinder the breeding and exchange of white sturgeon. Overfishing is another contributing factor, as fishing boats used to run through the river, leaving the sturgeon short of enough food. In addition, pesticides, fertilizers, chemical products and sewage from passing ships have also caused serious pollution to the Yangtze River, and the habitat of the white sturgeon has been destroyed.

Yangtze white sturgeon**

The Yangtze white sturgeon (scientific name: Psephhurus gladius) is an evolutionary fish belonging to the genus Sturgeon sturgeon, and its close relative is the polyodon sturgeon (Polyodon spathula) of the genus Polyodon. Their ancestors were very diverse and widespread between 34 million and 75 million years ago.

Sturgeons can be traced back to the Cretaceous period 200 million years ago, and they have endured long geological epochs, including the fifth mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period (Cretaceous Paleogene extinction event).

In fact, for a long time, the Yangtze River white sturgeon is not limited to the Yangtze River basin, but is widely distributed in China's major rivers, such as the Liao River, Hai River, Yellow River, Huai River, Qiantang River and even the coastal areas were once the Yangtze River white sturgeon's activity range.