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Disordered climate threatens short-distance migrants
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  • Haile Yang,
  • Luxian Yu,
  • Hongfang Qi,
  • Shengyun Fu,
  • Yang Wang ,
  • Jianxin Yang,
  • Hao Du
Haile Yang
Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences

Corresponding Author:haileyang18@yfi.ac.cn

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Luxian Yu
Rescue and Rehabilitation Center of Naked Carps of Qinghai Lake
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Hongfang Qi
Rescue and Rehabilitation Center of Naked Carps of Qinghai Lake
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Shengyun Fu
Rescue and Rehabilitation Center of Naked Carps of Qinghai Lake
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Yang Wang
Rescue and Rehabilitation Center of Naked Carps of Qinghai Lake
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Jianxin Yang
Rescue and Rehabilitation Center of Naked Carps of Qinghai Lake
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Hao Du
Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences
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Abstract

Global climate change has led to a warmer world, changing the migratory and breeding behaviors of many species, and short-distance migrants may benefit from climate change. With climate change leading to an increasingly disordered climate, we show here that a disordered spring climate disturbs the migration and breeding of a short-distance anadromous fish. In 2020, on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, an abnormally low temperature in April delayed the migration rhythm of Gymnocypris przewalskii by nearly 10 days, while the gonadal development rhythm of the breeding population was almost normal. The phenology mismatch decreased the migrating populations by 30–70%, reducing the larval flux by nearly 80%. This case reveals that for short-distance migrants, different phenologies within the same species respond to disordered climates differently, which leads to phenology mismatches and then threatens the species. Along with increasing local extreme weather and climate events, short-distance migrants need more attention and conservation actions.