Being a biologically diversed hotspot in the global marine ecosystem, the Beibu Gulf is inhabited by a high diversity of fish and serves as a vital fishing ground in China. Due to continuous overfishing, the fishery resource has drastically declined in the Beibu Gulf. However, information about the ichthyoplankton assemblages in this area is still lacking. In this present study, ichthyoplankton diversity, spatial and temporal distribution patterns, and assemblage structures were examined using the specimens collected in the late summer–autumn and winter of 2022 in the Beibu Gulf, and the relationship between ichthyoplankton assemblage and environmental variables was studied. A total of 117 ichthyoplankton taxa, belonging to 13 orders and 42 families, were recorded. The most abundant families were Gerreidae, Leiognathidae, and Sillaginidae in late summer–autumn, accounting for 38.74%, 27.95%, and 9.94%, respectively. Sparidae, Platycephalidae, and Sillaginidae were the most abundant families in winter, accounting for 34.03%, 17.15%, and 8.20%, respectively. Cluster analysis identified five assemblages in late summer-autumn and four assemblages in winter. The most characteristic species in each cluster were Terapon jarbua, Sillago sihama, Leiognathus brevirostris, Mene maculate, and Scomberoides tol in late summer-autumn and Scomberomorus commerson, Acanthopagrus latus, Sillago sp., and Evynnis cardinalis in winter. The results of the canonical correspondence analysis indicated that pH, chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), depth, dissolved oxygen (DO), sea surface salinity (SSS), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) were the major environmental variables affecting the ichthyoplankton assemblage structure in the Beibu Gulf. The finding of this study will provide valuable information in conserving fish spawning grounds and developing fishery management practices to protect fishery resources in the Beibu Gulf.

Corbicula fluminea is invasive in other parts of the world, but in China, it is native and supports important commercial fisheries. Surprisingly little is known about the ecology of native C. fluminea populations in China, including how life-history parameters, such as growth, may respond to widely variable environmental conditions, especially water-level management. A native C. fluminea population that supports a local commercial fishery in Hongze Lake (the 4^th-largest freshwater lake in China and the largest impounded lake on the East Route of the South to North Water Transfer Project [ESNT]) was studied. Age, growth, and climate–growth relationships were estimated based on thin-sectioned shells. Sclerochronological techniques were used to detrend individual growth measurement series and to investigate climate factors that influenced growth over time. Six age-classes of C. fluminea were identified. Lee’s phenomenon (i.e., underestimated sizes at earlier age classes in survivors) was evident. A von Bertalanffy growth function was fitted to estimate shell height (SH)-at-age (SH_∞= 45.2 mm, k = 0.13 and t_o= −1.11). Growth rates of individuals were extremely synchronous over time (2007–2011) (interseries r = 0.81), suggesting common growth drivers among individuals. Growth was positively correlated with food availability (chlorophyll a), annual runoff, regional annual total precipitation, and lake water level, and negatively correlated with extreme temperatures and annual temperature variance. The results suggest current water-level management practices that lower water level during summer may be limiting somatic growth and production of C. fluminea. Operation of the ESNT may have been working to benefit C. fluminea growth by increasing water availability from winter through early summer, a hypothesis that should be further investigated.

Identifying fish eggs and understanding fish reproductive periods are necessary for informed fishery management. However, accurate the identification of fish eggs is difficult because eggs have few distinct characters, and their morphology varies ontogenetically. Using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, we identified fish eggs from ichthyoplankton samples collected in the summer and autumn of 2021 from southwestern Daya Bay, China. Of 567 fish eggs, 498 high-quality cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences were obtained, of which 116 eggs (23.3%) could be identified to species; 364 (73.1%) to genus, family and/or order; and 18 (3.6%) could not be assigned. Of 51 apparent taxa, 46 were identified to 6 orders, 19 families, and 30 genera; 20 to the species and 25 to the genus and/or family, and 1 to the order. Among these 51 taxa, 35 occurred in summer, 29 occurred in autumn, and 13 occurred in both seasons; 22 occurred only in summer and 16 only in autumn, indicating species-specific spawning periods. High-resolution photographs of eggs are provided to facilitate subsequent identification based on morphology. These results will facilitate the identification of spawning grounds and their protection, to more holistically manage fishery resources in Daya Bay, China.

To assess the impact of the marine environment on the community of fish eggs in Daya Bay, we collected fish egg samples across four seasons during 2022. A total of 51 species of fish eggs were gathered. The fish egg community exhibited significant seasonal and spatial variations. The number of fish egg species was highest in spring and lowest in winter, while overall abundance peaked during summer. The abundance of eggs from large economic fish (Sparidae) showed a declining trend; however small pelagic fish (Leiognathidae, Engraulidae) have become dominant over time. Spatially, higher abundance is observed in the inner bay compared to the outer bay, particularly around coastal bank waters, near islands and reefs. Additionally, environmental factors and geographical location significantly influenced the fish egg community. For instance, Stolephorus continentalis and Photopectoralis bindus demonstrated a significant positive correlation with both temperature and water depth; conversely, Acanthopagrus schlegelii exhibited a negative correlation with water temperature.