Page 126 - 《水产学报》2026年第04期

4 期 吕 丁，等：基于环境 DNA 的黄河口与长江口邻近海域鱼类多样性比较 50 卷

Comparison of fish diversity in the adjacent waters of the Yellow and
Yangtze River Estuaries based on environmental DNA

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LÜ Ding , LIU Chengbin , HU Yulong , SHAN Xiujuan , WANG Weiji 1,2*
(1. State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute,
Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China;
2. Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao Marine Science and
Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China)

Abstract: To systematically compare the differences in fish community composition and diversity patterns, and to evaluate the
applicability of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding technology for monitoring estuarine fishery ecosystems, this study
collected water samples from nine stations in each of the two major estuaries during the spring of 2025. eDNA was extracted,
and a fragment of the fish 12S rRNA gene was amplified and subjected to high-throughput sequencing. After quality control and
taxonomic annotation of the sequencing results, species composition and diversity were assessed. The results revealed a total of
57 fish species identified across both estuarine regions, with the number of fish species in the Yangtze River Estuary (43 spe-
cies) being significantly higher than that in the Yellow River Estuary (30 species). The community structure in the Yellow
River Estuary showed a pattern dominated by a single dominant species (Trachurus japonicus), whereas the Yangtze River
Estuary was co-dominated by multiple species such as Coilia mystus, T. japonicus, and Engraulis japonicus, exhibiting a more
even distribution. Alpha diversity indices indicated that species richness, the Shannon index, and Pielou's evenness were all sig-
nificantly higher in the Yangtze River Estuary than in the Yellow River Estuary. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS)
analysis showed large differences in community composition among stations and high spatial heterogeneity within the Yellow
River Estuary, while stations in the Yangtze River Estuary exhibited higher similarity. This study demonstrates that fish
diversity in the Yangtze River Estuary is higher than in the Yellow River Estuary during spring, with significant differences in
dominant species patterns and spatial heterogeneity between the two, which may stem from differences in their hydrological
environments and habitat complexity. The findings provide a new data perspective for the baseline assessment and manage-
ment of fishery resources in the Yellow River and Yangtze River estuaries, and offer an empirical case study and methodolo-
gical reference for the application of eDNA technology in the routine monitoring of biodiversity in China's coastal waters.
Key words: species diversity; environmental DNA; Yellow River Estuary; Yangtze River Estuary

Corresponding author: WANG Weiji. E-mail: wangwj@ysfri.ac.cn.
Funding projects: National Key R & D Program of China (2023YFC3108001)

中国水产学会主办 sponsored by China Society of Fisheries https://www.china-fishery.cn
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