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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Ecosystem Ecology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1391800
This article is part of the Research Topic Understanding the Response of Ecosystems to Increasing Human Pressures and Climate Change – Management Options View all 19 articles

Habitat changes of a small endemic euryhaline fish species in the northern margin of the South China Sea under the background of global warming

Provisionally accepted
Jian Liao Jian Liao Hao Chen Hao Chen Jia-Yu Li Jia-Yu Li Gao-Cong Li Gao-Cong Li Xian Guan Xian Guan Cai-Feng Liang Cai-Feng Liang Yu-Song Guo Yu-Song Guo Zhong-Dian Dong Zhong-Dian Dong Zhong-Duo Wang Zhong-Duo Wang *
  • Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Hainan medaka (Oryzias curvinotus) is a small euryhaline fish species native to the northern margin of the South China Seatropical Asia. Our long-term field observations indicate a concerning decline in its wild resources. Climate change, an uncontrollable factor, has altered the species' distribution pattern. In this study, we simulated the shifts in the species range of O. curvinotus during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), current, and the next one hundred year, and analyzed its habitat attributes.The results demonstrate that bio2 (mean diurnal range of temperature) is a crucial factor in shaping the species range of O. curvinotus. The simulation results reveal that the current habitats are located in the coastal areas of northern Vietnam, the northeastern Hainan Province, the coastal areas of Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and a few areas in Taiwan Province of China, covering a total area of 17.82×10 4 km 2 . Highly suitable habitats are mainly concentrated in the coastal areas of Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, and Thanh Hoa in northern Vietnam, the central part of Leizhou Peninsula, and the west coast of the Pearl River Estuary. For the tropical species Hainan medaka, the impact of the Last Glacial MaximumLGM was relatively minor, and there were extensive suitable habitats during historical times, including three refugia. Currently, only Refugium 2 near Guanghai Town, Taishan County, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province in China remains, while the other two refugiarefugium have submerged below sea level. Future climate warming under different carbon emission levels is projected to cause a short-term expansion, followed by a relief in expansion. By 2100, the potential habitat area of O. curvinotus is slightly larger than the current scenario. It is noteworthy that under future climate warming scenarios, the highly suitable habitats will not migrate northward but will expand near the 21°N latitude. Overall, Hainan medaka is not expected to be threatened in the future. Our study provides long-term dynamic distribution data, which provides a theoretical basis for the long-term development and conservation management of Hainan medaka.

    Keywords: Oryzias curvinotus, Climate Change, habitats, Tropical species, distribution

    Received: 26 Feb 2024; Accepted: 26 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liao, Chen, Li, Li, Guan, Liang, Guo, Dong and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhong-Duo Wang, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 130012, Guangdong Province, China

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