At the invitation of the China Three Gorges University, Dr. Bi Yonghong from the Research Group of Algal Ecology at Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IHB) attended the Symposium on Ecological Environment of Three Gorges Reservoir during Dec. 9 and 10, 2013. The symposium was organized by China Three Gorges University and co-organized by the College of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering at China Three Gorges University.

German research team led by Prof. Stephan Norra from Institute of Mineralogy and Geochemistry, KIT, as well as research team led by Prof. Zheng Binghui, vice president of Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, work group led by Prof. Liu Defu, president of Hubei University of Technology, work group led by Prof. Huang Yingping, vice president of China Three Gorges University, research team led by Dr. Bi Yonghong from IHB were present at the Symposium.

Each research team or work group introduced its achievements made in the ecological environment of the Three Gorges reservoir region. Dr. Bi's oral presentation "Assemblage of phytoplankton structure in the Three Gorges Reservoir: evidence of seasonal succession and hydrodynamic changing" was paid much attention by other attendees. Dr. Bi's research integrates ecology with hydrology, elucidating the structure features and seasonal succession of the assemblage of phytoplankton in the Three Gorges Reservoir region, thus confirms that hydrodynamic factor is the main factor that controls the spatial pattern of the assemblage of phytoplankton in the Three Gorges Reservoir region.