China has experienced serious loss of wetlands owing to rapid population growth and industrialisation. Some of the major threats and challenges to wetlands are related to habitat degradation, loss of biodiversity and weaknesses in their protection and management. Herein we review the distribution of wetlands in China and discuss the key factors that degrade these wetlands.

Spartina alterniflora Loisel. is a coastal invasive species, and biological invasion is a global issue. In this article, previous studies investigating S. alterniflora using molecular biological techniques that have contributed to our understanding of the competitive advantage and invasion mechanism of S. alterniflora are summarised from the individual, population and application perspectives.

This article reviews wetland research in China. In all, 31 794 relevant articles (published from 1999 to 2019) were retrieved from the Web of Science database and analysed using a bibliometric approach. Articles were systematically reviewed to ascertain the progress of wetland research in four focus areas: climate change; pollution; plants and microorganisms; and conservation and management. This review provides a theoretical basis for further in-depth and systematic research into and realisation of a sustainable development strategy for wetland resources in China.

Samples from 15 farms were used in the present study and analysed by nine microsatellite DNA loci. High heterozygosity and polymorphism information content values were obtained. The genetic differentiation was small, suggesting genetic homogeneity among hatchery-produced offspring. The most immediate and effective conservation priority should be maintaining the current genetic diversity.

After an ecological restoration project in the Jialu River, there were decreases in total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand and ammonium nitrogen of 38.69, 40.52, 39.06 and 45.07% respectively. More novel native species (31 species) were found and, on average, species richness had increased 65.61% after the restoration with the main functioning groups represented. In all, 155 species were identified, with most species (71.71%) occurring in only one or two sites.

The impact of the Yellow Sea Warm Current on the Bohai Sea microbial community is unknown. Nearly every year in winter there is a stream of powerful, warm and saline Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) that moves northward through the Yellow Sea Trough and flows into the Bohai Sea. We found that the YSWC disturbed the hydrological environment in the Bohai Sea and, ultimately, flushed the microbial community.

Scatophagus argus is generally distributed around the Indo-West Pacific region and is a popular aquarium species around the world and a food fish in South-east and South Asia. Two lineages were identified in this study along the South China Sea coast, and genetic patterns indicate that these two lineages are both genetically and ecologically distinct populations; these results suggest the existence of cryptic species in S. argus. This study offers important resources for the further investigation of S. argus hybridisation, speciation, fishery and conservation.

This study investigated the associated bacterial community of harmful algal bloom-causing dinoflagellates Karenia mikimotoi (toxic) and Prorocentrum donghaiense (non-toxic). Alteromonadaceae was the predominant bacterial family and the relative abundance of Marinobacter was high in both cultures. Various aromatic hydrocarbons capable of degrading bacteria were detected in the K. mikimotoi culture, but not in the P. donghaiense culture; this may contribute to the toxicity or toxin synthesis of K. mikimotoi.

Three types of laboratory-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands (CWs) were constructed and subjected to partial intermittent aeration (PIA), intermittent aeration throughout the CWs or no aeration. PIA resulted in higher total nitrogen removal efficiency (mean 60.6%); the ammonia mono-oxygenase subunit A (amoA) gene was abundant in aerated areas and the nitrate reductase genes narG and nitrite reductase genes nirK and nirS were abundant in anaerobic areas.

The present study estimated the precise age and growth of three stocks of Sperata aor from the Ganges River. Vertebrae provided precise age estimates and showed annulus formation once a year. The stocks of target fish species show rapid growth relative to theoretical maximum length. The inferences from this study can be used to successfully manage the S. aor stocks.

Wetlands are picturesquely described as the kidneys of the Earth. Overgrowth of aquatic vegetation can accelerate the terrestrialisation of natural wetlands. It’s well-known that rhizospheric microbial communities play a significant role in plant growth and succession. Profiling microbial communities in the rhizospheric soil of Zizania latifolia will contribute to our understanding of species overgrowth, wetland degradation and loss.

The present study has helped explain the observation that dinoflagellates are often more resistant to crude-oil toxins than are other groups of marine protozoa, and that this may be due in part to the bacterial community associated with these dinoflagellates. Highlights of the study include the finding that bacterial communities (BC) exposed to the combined conditions of crude oil and light enhanced harmful dinoflagellate Karenia brevis growth, but bacterial communities grown under dark conditions with oil did not promote growth.

Biological characteristics and habitat use of two data-deficient spurdog shark species, namely Squalus japonicus and Squalus brevirostris, are described from fishery-independent bottom trawl surveys. Prey overlap was high between species and estimated length at sexual maturity suggested that populations of either species have not declined. Body length and sex ratio distributions of these two spurdog species suggest that they segregate over the continental slope and that there was a maturity-based segregation.