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The number of finless porpoises inhabiting the Nanjing section of the Yangtze River is increasing, and the biodiversity of their homes is becoming richer. Recently, the Municipal Bureau of Greening and Gardening held a press conference to report on the biodiversity survey of the Nanjing Yangtze River Finless Porpoise Provincial Nature Reserve from 2023 to 2024. This study mainly investigated the population and distribution characteristics of the Yangtze finless porpoise. species composition, status and spatiotemporal changes of aquatic organisms, wetland plants and birds; water environmental quality, etc., from the autumn of 2023 to the summer of 2024.
What’s new: The number of finless porpoises in the reserve has increased from 62 to 65.
During the 2023-2024 survey period, a total of 336 Yangtze finless porpoises were observed in the reserve, with an estimated population of about 65 individuals, an increase of 4.84% compared with 62 individuals in the 2022 background resources survey. In general, the Yangtze finless porpoise in the reserve showed a continuous distribution, and the waters of Xinjizhou-Zimuzhou and Qianzhou were the hotspots.
New discovery: Rich in biological resources, the rare bird black stork has appeared for the first time
In this dynamic survey, a total of 105 species of phytoplankton, 59 species of zooplankton, 56 species of benthic animals and 47 species of fish were collected and identified. In addition to the Yangtze finless porpoise, a national first-class key protected wild animal, there are also national second-class key protected aquatic wild animals such as cochineal, China’s endangered red book species mandarin fish, and Jiangsu Province’s key protected aquatic wild animals long-snouted bass, eel, bream and copperfish.
There are also many species of birds in and around the reserve, and a total of 123 species of birds have been recorded in the survey. Among them, there are 4 species of national first-class key protected wild animals: in addition to the yellow-breasted bunting (wú), the oriental white stork (guàn), and the black-faced spoonbill, the black stork was newly discovered in this survey; In addition, there are 20 species of wild animals under national second-class key protection: water pheasant, white-breasted jade, Aurora jay, lark, black kite, peregrine falcon, red-footed falcon, tern falcon, common bustard (kuáng), red-bellied eagle, white-tailed harrier, sparrowhawk, wild goose, little swan, little white-fronted goose, mandarin duck, white-fronted goose, flower-faced duck, little crow and white spoonbill.
New achievements: The quality of the ecological environment of the reserve is stable and improving
The results of this year’s dynamic survey show that the quality of the ecological environment in the reserve is stable and improving, the population of the Yangtze finless porpoise is stable and showing a quantitative growth trend, and the biodiversity remains stable overall. Nanjing is the only major city in the entire Yangtze River basin where you can see wild finless porpoises up close in the center of the city, and the vision of a harmonious coexistence between the city and nature is gradually becoming a reality.
