Only one fish out of 1,300 captured from lakes in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) in May was a native species, the Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office said earlier this month, but added that volunteer efforts to create refuges for endemic species are showing promising results.
Out of the 1,300 fish caught from the lakes in Bihu (碧湖) and Dahu (大湖) parks, about half were suckermouth catfish, while only one was an endemic species, said Sung Fu-hua (宋馥華), head of the office’s Floriculture Experiment Center.
Once the COVID-19 pandemic eases, the office would commission researchers to assess the number of invasive fish in the two lakes, Sung said.
The office said that it in October last year cooperated with volunteers to improve the health of the lakes by creating two floating islands and converting a concrete shoreline.
Bamboo poles form the three sides of the triangular floating islands, creating a surface for dozens of kinds of endemic aquatic plants such as small-leaved barringtonia and da-ann hygrophila to grow, the office said.
In addition to improving water quality, diverse plant species can provide a “forest on the water” for insects, butterflies, birds and other creatures, while their root systems are beneficial for fish reproduction, it added.
The floating islands have flourished in the short time they have been on the water, attracting many birds and other species, it said.
Gray herons and great egrets made use of the islands in the winter, while little egrets, black-crowned night herons and other species can be seen year-round, it said, adding that common moorhens have raised chicks there.
Native stripe-necked turtles sunbathe on the islands, forming a natural ecosystem with the fish beneath the surface, the office said.
Volunteers last year also converted the concrete barrier in front of the pavilion in Bihu Park into a natural shoreline, which was in May planted with a variety of endemic aquatic plants, the office said.
The plants have since taken root, attracting dragonflies and butterflies, while the ducks that used to stay near the park’s nine-turn bridge have migrated to stay near the shore, it said, adding that the young moorhens reared on the floating islands also reside near the natural shoreline.
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