DISCUSSION
Nondestructive technical monitoring and investigations are gaining
increasing attention (Weigand et al., 2019; Tsuji et al., 2020). This is
especially important in watersheds with a high concentration of rare
fish species (Chen et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2020), where disturbance
and damage to fish communities must be considered (Su et al., 2021), and
high costs may be incurred (Zhang et al., 2022). The Chishui River Basin
has implemented a 10-year fishing ban that has been in place for four
years (Yu et al., 2022). Although fish diversity monitoring studies in
the basin have continued (Liu et al., 2019; Liu et al., 2020; Liu et
al., 2021; Yu et al., 2022), traditional survey methods have been used
(Liu et al., 2021), and the impact of human activities on fish after the
ban has not been assessed (Yu et al., 2022). Because fish diversity data
are only available through a single method, fish conservation efforts in
the Chishui River Basin may be limited. To address this issue, we
utilized the eDNA method to investigate the fish diversity in the
Chishui River Basin. Our findings were consistent with traditional
survey methods, and we demonstrated that human activities in the basin
have a lower impact on fish. This study highlights the potential
benefits of using nondestructive monitoring methods for fish
conservation and biodiversity surveys, particularly in areas with rare
fish species and high levels of human activity.