Addressing Climate Change Impacts on Streamflow in the Jinsha River Basin Based on CMIP5 Climate Models

Projecting future changes of streamflow in the Jinsha River Basin (JRB) is important for the planning and management of the west route of South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP). This paper presented an analysis of the implications of CMIP5 climate models on the future streamflow in the JRB, using SWAT model. Results show that: (1) In the JRB, a 10% precipitation decrease might result in a streamflow increase of 15 to 18% and a 1 °C increase in temperature might results in a 2 to 5% decrease in streamflow; (2) GFDL-ESM2M and NORESM1-M showed considerable skill in representing the observed precipitation and temperature, which can be chosen to analyze the changes in streamflow in the future; (3) The precipitation and temperature were projected to increase by 0.8 to 5.0% and 1.31 to 1.87 °C. The streamflow was projected to decrease by 4.1 to 14.3% in the upper JRB. It was excepted to change by −4.6 to 8.1% in the middle and lower JRB (MLJRB). The changes of low streamflow in the MLJRB were −5.8 to 7.4%. Therefore, the potential impact of climate on streamflow will have little effect on the planning and management of the west route of SNWTP

Effects of Effective Precipitation and Accumulated Temperature on the Terrestrial EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) in the Yellow River Basin, China

To identify the vegetation dynamics and relationship with the hydrothermal conditions in the Yellow River basin (YRB), the spatial–temporal variations of EVI, effective precipitation (Epr), accumulated temperature (At), and their relationships were obtained based on the MODIS EVI data and meteorological data from the YRB during 2001–2020. The results indicate that EVI trends increased during 2001 to 2020, especially in the farmland, forestland, and grassland ecosystems. Epr and At have also increased over the last 20 years. Epr mostly increased faster in the grassland, and water bodies and wetland ecosystems. At mostly increased faster in the water bodies and wetland, desert, and forest ecosystems. Affected by Epr and At, the correlation between the EVI and hydrothermal conditions varied under different hydrothermal conditions. Compared to the At, the Epr was the restrictive factor for the EVI variations in the terrestrial ecosystem in the YRB. In addition, the dynamical thresholds of the EVI, Epr, and At were confirmed. This study can improve the understanding of vegetation variations and their response to regional climate change, which is critical for ecological conservation and the high-quality development of the YRB

Research on Historical and Future Spatial-Temporal Variability of Precipitation in China

Based on observed data and data simulated by climate models, temporal variation and spatial distribution of precipitation in China from 1961 to 2050 were investigated. The slope of annual precipitation and Mann-Kendall statistical test were applied to quantify the trend magnitude and detect the significant trend, respectively. Besides, decadal and interannual variations of different rain belts were analyzed to reveal the spatial changing pattern of precipitation. Results indicated the following. (1) During 1961–2011, annual precipitation in Haihe River Basin decreased significantly while the annual precipitation in river basins in the northwest increased significantly. Although the annual precipitation of Yangtze River Basin has an indistinctive decreasing trend, that in the middle and lower reaches has increased and that in the upper reaches has decreased. Arid zone and humid zone are shrinking while semiarid and semihumid zone are expanding. Transformation between semiarid and arid zones, humid and semihumid zones is frequent. During 2011–2050, annual precipitation will not change much (−6~12%) except river basins in the southwest (more than 40%) compared with the baseline. Besides, the area of arid zone will decrease and humid zone area will increase. Transformation area between semiarid and arid zone and humid and semihumid zone is small

An Ecologically Oriented Operation Strategy for a Multi-Reservoir System: A Case Study of the Middle and Lower Han River Basin, China

Constructing and operating a multi-reservoir system changes the natural flow regime of rivers, and thus imposes adverse impacts on riverine ecosystems. To balance human needs with ecosystem needs, this study proposes an ecologically oriented operation strategy for a multi-reservoir system that integrates environmental flow requirements into the joint operation of a multi-reservoir system in order to maintain different ecological functions throughout the river. This strategy is a combination of a regular optimal operation scheme and a series of real-time ecological operation schemes. During time periods when the incompatibilities between human water needs and ecosystem needs for environmental flows are relatively small, the regular optimal operation scheme is implemented in order to maximize multiple human water-use benefits under the constraints of a minimum water-release policy. During time periods when reservoir-induced hydrological alteration imposes significant negative impacts on the river’s key ecological functions, real-time ecological operation schemes are implemented in order to modify the outflow from reservoirs to meet the environmental flow requirements of these functions. The practical use of this strategy is demonstrated for the simulation operation of a large-scale multi-reservoir system which located in the middle and lower Han River Basin in China. The results indicate that the real-time ecological operation schemes ensure the environmental flow requirements of the river’s key ecological functions, and that adverse impacts on human water-use benefits can be compensated for by the regular optimal operation scheme. The ecologically oriented operation strategy for a multi-reservoir system that is proposed in this study enriches the theoretical application of the multi-reservoir system joint operation which considers environmental flow requirements. Keywords: Multi-reservoir system, Ecologically oriented operation, Environmental flow requirements, Han River Basi

Changes in the fecal microbiome of the Yangtze finless porpoise during a short-term therapeutic treatment

The fecal microbiome is an integral part of aquatic mammals, like an inner organ. But we know very little about this inner organ of the threatened aquatic species, Yangtze finless porpoise (YFP). Four YFPs were placed into a purse seine for skin ulceration treatment, and this opportunity was taken to nurse the animals closer. In particular, we collected the feces of the YFPs before and after the paired healing and therapeutic treatment, along with samples of their fish diet and water habitat, to explore the changes in their fecal microbiome. Firmicutes (20.9–96.1%), Proteobacteria (3.8–78.7%), Actinobacteria (0.1–35.0%) and Tenericutes (0.8–17.1%) were the most dominant phyla present in the feces. The proportion of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria increased after the treatment. Firmicutes showed a significant decrease, and most potential pathogens were absent, which reflected the administration of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride. Moreover, environmental shifts can also contribute to changes in the fecal microbiome. These results indicate that certain microbial interactions can be affected by environmental shifts, dietary changes and health-care treatments, which can also help maintain the internal environment of YFPs. These findings will inform the future enhanced protection and management of endangered YFPs and other vulnerable aquatic animals

Blood Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Gene Expression Differences between Yangtze Finless Porpoises from Two Habitats: Natural and Ex Situ Protected Waters

The Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis, YFP) is a critically endangered small odontocete species, mainly distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Poyang Lake, and Dongting Lake. Under the influence of human activities, many factors are threatening the survival and reproduction of YFPs in their natural habitat. Ex situ conservation is of great significance to strengthen the rescuing conservation of YFPs by providing suitable alternative habitats and promoting the reproduction and growth of the ex situ population. To reveal the differences in gene expression of YFPs in natural and ex situ protected waters, and to investigate the effects of environmental factors on YFPs and their mechanisms, we performed transcriptome sequencing for blood tissues of YFPs collected from natural waters and ex situ protected waters. Using RNA-seq we identified 4613 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 4485 were up-regulated and 128 were down-regulated in the natural population. GO analysis showed that DEGs were significantly enriched in entries related to binding, catalytic activity, and biological regulation; KEGG analysis showed that DEGs were enriched mainly in signal transduction, endocrine system, immune system, and sensory system-related pathways. Further analysis revealed that water pollution in natural waters may affect the hormone secretion of YFPs by altering the expression pattern of endocrine genes, thus interfering with normal endocrine activities; noise pollution may induce oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in YFPs, thus impairing the auditory function of YFPs. This study provides a new perspective for further research on the effect of habitat conditions on the YFPs and suggests that improving the habitat environment may help in the conservation of YFPs