Abstract:

Fish assemblages were investigated at four sites in the upper reaches of Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, Shanghai, China monthly between June 2005 and May 2006. Forty four fish species in total, belonging to 10 orders, 14 families, 35 genera, were recorded. A total of 30 species belonging to 6 orders, 10 families and 25 genera, were recorded at Baihe and Huangdu on Suzhou Creek, and a total of 39 species belonging to 10 orders, 13 families and 32 genera were collected at Dianfeng and Songpu Bridge on the Huangpu River. Spatio-temporal distribution patterns were observed for the diversity of fish assemblages, with greater species richness in summer and autumn than in winter and spring, and higher species diversity in the upper Huangpu River than in Suzhou Creek. The fish community at Baihe was highly similar to those at the two sites in the Huangpu River, whereas the fish community at Huangdu station was moderately dissimilar to those at the two Huangpu River sites. Between-stream variation in community composition was greater than within-stream variation. Fish communities at the four sites were dominated by omnivore species, which occupied 51.5-62.5% of the communities, and sedentary species. Songpu Bridge had the highest species richness of river-sea migratory species and river-lake migratory species. The results suggested that the fish assemblages at the four sites are somewhat spatially isolated. Further, water quality and interconnectedness of waterways may be important factors influencing diversity of fish species in upper Suzhou creek. It was suggested that higher species diversity of fish in the upstream section of Huangpu River was due to a larger volume of water body, better interconnectedness of waterways and water quality.

Key words: species diversity of fish, spatio-temporal distribution, Huangpu River, Suzhou Creek