University professor leads biodiversity efforts in upper Yangtze River

A college professor has been leading biodiversity conservation efforts in the middle stretch of the Yangtze River, the longest river in Asia.

Liu Haiping, a professor at Southwest University's School of Life Science in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, has been working in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River for 20 years, including 15 years of fish conservation in the unmanned zones of Xizang Autonomous Region in the west.

Since arriving in Chongqing, Liu has been dedicated to the population recovery of rare fish.

"There are about 180 kinds of fish in Chongqing. Some of them are unique to the Yangtze River, and a small number of fish are in an endangered state. For these endangered fish, we have to adopt special technical means to preserve them," Liu said.

To prevent the extinction of rare species, Liu and his team are using germplasm conservation, selecting samples with good disease resistance and other fine genetic characteristics for breeding to create a stronger variety of the species.

"Germplasm conservation is actually not far from our daily life. Take the goldfish for example. That is a form of germplasm conservation, as we continue to select the ones with better colors and shapes for breeding," Liu said.

A germplasm resources bank for upper-reach species is being developed with the goal of increasing fish breeding and releasing one million fish belonging to rare and unique species to the Yangtze River, according to conservation plans.

"As a team of aquaculture specialists, our goal is to ensure these endangered fish are still around hundreds or thousands of years from now. We hope that through our consistent efforts, one day these rare fish can be seen everywhere. That is the result we hope to see in the long run," Liu said.

The population of endangered fish in the Yangtze River has been steadily recovering in recent years, thanks to a 10-year fishing ban that took effect in 2021 and the consistent efforts from conservationists and scientists like Liu.

(Cover: Sunrise at the Simian Mountain scenic area in Chongqing Municipality, southwest China. /CFP)