Rapidly Shifting Baselines in Yangtze Fishing Communities and Local Memory of Extinct Species

CORC > 水生生物研究所 > 中科院水生所知识产出（2009年前） > 水生生物多样性与资源保护研究中心 > 期刊论文

	Rapidly Shifting Baselines in Yangtze Fishing Communities and Local Memory of Extinct Species
	Turvey, Samuel T.1; Barrett, Leigh A.2; Hao Yujiang 3; Zhang Lei 3; Zhang Xinqiao 3; Wang Xianyan 3; Huang Yadong 3; Zhou Kaiya 4; Hart, Tom 1; Wang Ding 3
刊名	CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
	2010-06-01
卷号	24 期号:3 页码:778-787
关键词	baiji generational amnesia local ecological knowledge perceptions traditional ecological knowledge Yangtze paddlefish Yangtze River dolphin
ISSN号	0888-8892
通讯作者	Turvey, ST, Zool Soc London, Inst Zool, Regents Pk, London NW1 4RY, England
中文摘要	Local ecological knowledge can provide a unique source of data for conservation, especially in efforts to investigate the status of rare or possibly extinct species, but it is unlikely to remain constant over time. Loss of perspective about past ecological conditions caused by lack of communication between generations may create "shifting baseline syndrome," in which younger generations are less aware of local species diversity or abundance in the recent past. This phenomenon has been widely discussed, but has rarely been examined quantitatively. We present new evidence of shifting baselines in local perception of regional species declines and on the duration of "community memory" of extinct species on the basis of extensive interviews with fishers in communities across the middle-lower Yangtze basin. Many Yangtze species have experienced major declines in recent decades, and the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) and Yangtze paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) may have become extinct during the 21(st) century. Although informants across all age classes were strongly aware of the Yangtze ecosystem's escalating resource depletion and environmental degradation, older informants were more likely to recognize declines in two commercially important fish species, Reeves' shad (Tenualosa reevesii) and Yangtze pufferfish (Takifugu fasciatus), and to have encountered baiji and paddlefish in the past. Age was also a strong predictor of whether informants had even heard of baiji or paddlefish, with younger informants being substantially less likely to recognize either species. A marked decrease in local knowledge about the Yangtze freshwater megafauna matched the time of major population declines of these species from the 1970s onwards, and paddlefish were already unknown to over 70% of all informants below the age of 40 and to those who first started fishing after 1995. This rapid rate of cultural baseline shift suggests that once even megafaunal species cease to be encountered on a fairly regular basis, they are rapidly forgotten by local communities.
英文摘要	Local ecological knowledge can provide a unique source of data for conservation, especially in efforts to investigate the status of rare or possibly extinct species, but it is unlikely to remain constant over time. Loss of perspective about past ecological conditions caused by lack of communication between generations may create "shifting baseline syndrome," in which younger generations are less aware of local species diversity or abundance in the recent past. This phenomenon has been widely discussed, but has rarely been examined quantitatively. We present new evidence of shifting baselines in local perception of regional species declines and on the duration of "community memory" of extinct species on the basis of extensive interviews with fishers in communities across the middle-lower Yangtze basin. Many Yangtze species have experienced major declines in recent decades, and the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) and Yangtze paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) may have become extinct during the 21(st) century. Although informants across all age classes were strongly aware of the Yangtze ecosystem's escalating resource depletion and environmental degradation, older informants were more likely to recognize declines in two commercially important fish species, Reeves' shad (Tenualosa reevesii) and Yangtze pufferfish (Takifugu fasciatus), and to have encountered baiji and paddlefish in the past. Age was also a strong predictor of whether informants had even heard of baiji or paddlefish, with younger informants being substantially less likely to recognize either species. A marked decrease in local knowledge about the Yangtze freshwater megafauna matched the time of major population declines of these species from the 1970s onwards, and paddlefish were already unknown to over 70% of all informants below the age of 40 and to those who first started fishing after 1995. This rapid rate of cultural baseline shift suggests that once even megafaunal species cease to be encountered on a fairly regular basis, they are rapidly forgotten by local communities.
学科主题	Biodiversity Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Sciences
WOS标题词	Science & Technology ; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
类目[WOS]	Biodiversity Conservation ; Ecology ; Environmental Sciences
研究领域[WOS]	Biodiversity & Conservation ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
关键词[WOS]	PSEPHURUS-GLADIUS MARTENS ; GULF-OF-CALIFORNIA ; ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE ; CHINESE PADDLEFISH ; CONSERVATION ; BIODIVERSITY ; FISHERIES ; RIVER ; BIOLOGY ; MANAGEMENT
收录类别	SCI
资助信息	Marine Mammal Commission ; Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong ; People's Trust for Endangered Species ; ZSL's EDGE of Existence programme ; Natural Environment Research Council
语种	英语
WOS记录号	WOS:000277690900020
公开日期	2010-12-23
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://ir.ihb.ac.cn/handle/342005/13477]
专题	水生生物研究所_水生生物多样性与资源保护研究中心_期刊论文
作者单位	1.Zool Soc London, Inst Zool, London NW1 4RY, England 2.Vaquita Org Fdn, Oceanside, CA 92056 USA 3.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Hydrobiol, Wuhan 430072, Peoples R China 4.Nanjing Normal Univ, Coll Life Sci, Jiangsu Key Lab Biodivers & Biotechnol, Nanjing 210097, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Turvey, Samuel T.,Barrett, Leigh A.,Hao Yujiang,et al. Rapidly Shifting Baselines in Yangtze Fishing Communities and Local Memory of Extinct Species[J]. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY,2010,24(3):778-787.
APA	Turvey, Samuel T..,Barrett, Leigh A..,Hao Yujiang.,Zhang Lei.,Zhang Xinqiao.,...&Wang Ding.(2010).Rapidly Shifting Baselines in Yangtze Fishing Communities and Local Memory of Extinct Species.CONSERVATION BIOLOGY,24(3),778-787.
MLA	Turvey, Samuel T.,et al."Rapidly Shifting Baselines in Yangtze Fishing Communities and Local Memory of Extinct Species".CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 24.3(2010):778-787.