Zhang et al.: Ecological effects of the first dam on Yangtze main stream - 2081 - ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE FIRST DAM ON YANGTZE MAIN STREAM AND FUTURE CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS: A REVIEW OF THE PAST 60 YEARS ZHANG, H.1 – LI, J. Y.1 – WU, J. M.1 – WANG, C. Y.1 – DU, H.1 – WEI, Q. W.1* – KANG, M.2* 1Key Laboratory of Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture of China; Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P. R. China (phone: +86-27-8178-0118; fax: +86-27-8178-0118) 2Department of Maritime Police and Production System / The Institute of Marine Industry, Gyeongsang National University, Cheondaegukchi-Gil 38, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, 53064, South Korea (phone: +82-55-772-9187; fax: +82-55-772-9189) *Corresponding authors e-mail:
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[email protected] (Received 21st Jul 2017; accepted 27th Oct 2017) Abstract. The Gezhouba Dam was the first and lowermost dam on the major stem of the Yangtze River. Up to now, the dam has been operating for more than 35 years. The time period was a fast economic development stage in the Yangtze basin. Therefore, the entire Yangtze aquatic ecosystem has been highly affected by various anthropogenic activities. Especially, the fish population and distribution in the Yangtze River have been largely altered. This study reviews the ecological effects of the Gezhouba Dam to the Yangtze aquatic biodiversity for the past 60 years based on literatures. It was concluded that the pre-assessment of the Gezhouba Dam on Yangtze fishes in 1970s was appropriate.