Research Group on Biological Invasion and Adaptive Evolution----Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Research Division for Aquatic Ecology and Systematic Conservation

Research Group on Biological Invasion and Adaptive Evolution

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PI: Prof. JIA Yintao, PhD

Group Members: CHEN Yifeng (Professor), JIA Yintao (Professor), SUI Xiaoyun (Senior Experimentalist), FENG Xiu (Associate Professor), ZHU Ren (Senior Engineer)

Contact Us:

Tel: +86-27-68780928 (Prof. Chen); +86-27-68780808 (Prof. Jia); +86-27-68780189 (Dr. Sui; Dr. Feng; Mr. Zhu)

+86-27-68780115 (Student Office)

E-mail: chenyf@ihb.ac.cn (Prof. Chen); jiayintao@ihb.ac.cn, jiayintao@163.com (Prof. Jia)

General Introduction

The Research Group on Biological Invasion and Adaptive Evolution focuses on the impacts of biological invasions, global environmental change, and human activities on freshwater fish communities and aquatic ecosystems. Our research primarily addresses the ecological impacts of non-native fishes on freshwater biodiversity and ecosystems in China, including their monitoring, early warning, and risk assessment; the effects of global environmental change on freshwater fish communities and aquatic ecosystems, particularly the adaptation of plateau fishes to high-altitude environments and their responses to environmental change; and the assessment of river ecosystem health and the development of conservation strategies for riverine ecosystems.

Main Research Directions

(1) Biological Invasions: Investigating and assessing the impacts of biological invasions on freshwater fish communities and aquatic ecosystems in China, examining phenotypic plasticity and genetic changes in non-native fishes, and developing approaches for monitoring, early warning, and risk assessment of important non-native fish species.

(2) Global Change Ecology: Investigating the impacts of global environmental change on freshwater fishes and aquatic ecosystems in China, examining fish population history and mechanisms underlying the maintenance of biodiversity, and exploring the adaptation of plateau fishes to high-altitude environments and their responses to global environmental change.

(3) River Ecosystem Health Assessment: Investigating the impacts of human activities on fish population characteristics and food web structure, assessing the ecological health of aquatic ecosystems, and developing conservation strategies and systematic conservation plans for riverine ecosystems.

Keywords: Biological Invasions; Adaptive Evolution; Global Change; Human Activities; Freshwater Fishes; Food Webs; River Ecosystem Health Assessment.

Major Research Projects

1. Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Invasion of Polyploid Carassius auratus into High-Altitude Environments. National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), 2024–2027.

2. Impacts of Global Change on Aquatic Biodiversity in the Upper Yellow River and Qinghai Lake. National Natural Science Foundation of China (Joint Fund for Regional Innovation and Development), 2023–2026.

3. Responses of Multidimensional Fish Diversity to Cascaded Hydropower Development in the Upper Yellow River and Their Underlying Drivers. National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), 2022–2025.

4. Identification of Indicator Fish Species and Their Distribution Patterns in the Yellow River Basin. National Key Research and Development Program of China, 2022–2025.

5. Aquatic Environment and Aquatic Biota and Their Responses to Climate Change. Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program, 2019–2023.

6. Ecological Impacts and Risk Assessment of Non-native Species Invasions on the Tibetan Plateau. Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program, 2019–2023.

7. Structure of Riverine Fish Assemblages and Their Relationships with Multiscale Land Use and Riverine Environmental Conditions. National Natural Science Foundation of China (International Cooperation and Exchange Program), 2018–2022.

8. Identification of Flagship Fish Species, Prediction of Their Suitable Habitats, and Conservation Assessment. Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2018–2022.

9. Development of a Fish-Based Ecological Risk Assessment and Early Warning System for Lake Environments. National Water Pollution Control and Treatment Science and Technology Major Project, 2017–2020.

10. Integrated Assessment Technologies for Riverine Ecological Environments. Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2016–2018.

11. Baseline Survey of Aquatic Biodiversity in Typical Lakes of Northern Tibet. National Science and Technology Basic Resources Investigation Program, 2014–2019.

12. Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Life-History Traits of Plateau Fishes. National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program), 2014–2017.

Major Publications

1. Jia, Y.*, Li, J., Cardoso, P., Zhuo, Y., Wang, J., Sui, X., Feng, X., Zhu, R., Li, K., Chen, Y. Nonlinear dynamics of fish beta diversity and the disproportionate influence of non-native species in cascade-dammed rivers. Conservation Biology, 2026: e70338.

2. Feng, X.*, Wang, X., Zhu, R., Jia, Y., Sui, X., Qiao, Z., Chen, Y.* Comparing Sediment and Water eDNA Metabarcoding for Monitoring Aquatic Biodiversity in a Plateau Lake. Environmental DNA, 2026, 8(1): e70244.

3. Sui, X., Lin, P., Ding, L., Wang, H., Waters, J., He, D.* Genetic insights into drainage evolution: Late Miocene river capture in the eastern Himalaya. Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 2026, 64(1): 33–48.

4. Feng, X.*, Wang, X., Zhu, R., Jia, Y., Sui, X., Zhuo, Y., Li, J., Chen, Y.* Genetic Diversity and Population Genetic Structure of Endemic Schizothoracinae Fishes in the Upper Yellow River and Its Adjacent Waters. Ecology and Evolution, 2025, 15(12): e72813.

5. Feng, X., Chen, K., Zhu, R., Jia, Y., Sui, X., Xiong, X., Zhu, H., Li, B., Sun, H., Mu, T., Jiang, C., Miao, W.*, Chen, Y.* Biodiversity and Community Assembly of Endorheic Rivers on Earth's Largest Plateau. Freshwater Biology, 2025, 70(8): e70087.

6. Feng, X., Zhu, R., Jia, Y., Sui, X., Wang, X., Zhuo, Y., Li, J., Chen, Y.* Chromosome-level genome assembly of Triplophysa scleroptera. Scientific Data, 2025, 12: 1082.

7. Jia, Y., Zhuo, Y., Cardoso, P., Li, J., Wang, J., Sui, X., Feng, X., Zhu, R., Li, K., Chen, Y.* Loss and Gain: Temporal Succession in Different Facets of Fish Diversity Over a Half Century Under Cascade Dam Construction. Fish and Fisheries, 2025, 26: 356–371.

8. Jia, Y., Zhu, H., Xie, T., Xiong, X., Li, Z., Cui, Y., Liu, G., Liu, M., Chen, Y.* From source to lake: Multi-taxon alpha and beta diversity patterns along a river above 4500 m AMSL on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Water Biology and Security, 2024, 3(4): 100294.

9. Jia, Y., Han, Y., Jiang, Y., Liu, C., Sui, X., Zhu, R., Tan, X., Feng, X., Liu, M., Li, K., Chen, Y.* Broad-scale perspective on body size-trophic position patterns of freshwater fishes at the intraspecific and community levels from individual-based data in China. Global Ecology and Conservation, 2024, 50: e02856.

10. Han, Y., Jiang, Y., Xiong, X., Sui, X., Zhu, R., Feng, X., Li, K., Jia, Y.*, Chen, Y.* Mercury biomagnification at higher rates than the global average in aquatic ecosystems of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2023, 453: 131408.

11. Feng, X., Zhu, R., Jia, Y., Tong, J., Yu, X., Pang, M., Liu, C., Sui, X.*, Chen, Y.* Genetic diversity and population structure of the invasive populations of goldfish Carassius auratus complex in Tibet. Biological Invasions, 2023, 25: 2103–2115.

12. Feng, X., Liu, S., Sui, X.*, Chen, Y.*, Zhu, R., Jia, Y., Tong, J., Yu, X., Liu, C., Hansen, M. M. Genetic responses in sexual diploid and unisexual triploid goldfish (Carassius auratus) introduced into a high-altitude environment. Molecular Ecology, 2023, 32: 1955–1971.

13. Feng, X., Li, B., Chen, Y., Zhu, R., Jia, Y., Sui, X.* Species-level monitoring of rare and invasive fishes using eDNA metabarcoding in the middle and upper Yarlung Zangbo River, Tibet. Water Biology and Security, 2023, 2: 100089.

14. Zhu, R., Sun, H., Ji, S., Li, X., Jia, Y., Sui, X.* First wild record of tench, Tinca tinca (Linnaeus, 1758) in Tibet, China. BioInvasions Records, 2023, 12(1): 292–297.

15. Zhu, R., Chen, K., Cai, X., Li, G., Chen, Y.*, Shen, Z.* The first wild record of invasive redhead cichlid, Vieja melanura (Gunther, 1862), in Hainan Island, China. BioInvasions Records, 2022, 11(1): 244–249.

16. Jia, Y., Jiang, Y., Liu, Y., Sui, X., Feng, X., Zhu, R., Li, K., Chen, Y.* Unravelling fish community assembly in shallow lakes: Insights from functional and phylogenetic diversity. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 2022, 32(2): 623–644.

17. Jia, Y., Jiang, Y., Liu, Y., Sui, X., Feng, X., Zhu, R., Chen, Y.* Understanding trophic structure variation in fish assemblages of subtropical shallow lakes: Combined effects of ecosystem size, productivity, and disturbance. Ecological Indicators, 2021, 129: 107924.

18. Zhang, C., Zhu, R., Sui, X., Li, X., Chen, Y.* Understanding patterns of taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and ecological drivers of fish fauna in the Mekong River. Global Ecology and Conservation, 2021, 28: e01711.

19. Chen, K., He, D., Ding, C., Jia, Y., Chen, Y.* Evaluation of the Lapillar Otolith Shape as a Tool for Discrimination of Stock of Naked Carp, Gymnocypris selincuoensis in the Tibetan Plateau. Pakistan Journal of Zoology, 2021, 53(6): 2337–2349.

20. Zhu, R., He, D., Feng, X., Xiong, W., Tao, J.* The new record of the highest distribution altitude of cyprinid fishes in the world. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 2021, 37(3): 474–478.

21. Ding, C., He, D., Chen, Y.*, Jia, Y., Tao, J. Otolith microstructure analysis based on wild young fish and its application in confirming the first annual increment in Tibetan Gymnocypris selincuoensis. Fisheries Research, 2020, 221: 105386.

22. Sun, H., He, D., Sui, X., Chen, Y.* Predicting impacts of future climate change and hydropower development towards habitats of native and non-native fishes. Science of the Total Environment, 2020, 707: 135419.

23. Chen, K., Jia, Y.*, Xiong, X., Sun, H., Zhu, R., Chen, Y.* Integration of taxonomic distinctness indices into the assessment of headwater streams with a high altitude gradient and low species richness along the upper Han River. Ecological Indicators, 2020, 112: 106106.

24. Jia, Y., Kennard, M. J., Liu, Y., Sui, X., Li, K., Wang, G., Chen, Y.* Human disturbance and long-term changes in fish taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity in the Yellow River, China. Hydrobiologia, 2020, 847(18): 3711–3725.

25. Jia, Y., Sui, X., Chen, Y.*, He, D. Climate change and spatial distribution shaped the life-history traits of schizothoracine fishes on the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent areas. Global Ecology and Conservation, 2020, 22: e01041.

26. Zhang, C., Zhu, R., Sui, X., Chen, K., Li, B., Chen, Y.* Ecological use of vertebrate surrogate species in ecosystem conservation. Global Ecology and Conservation, 2020, 24: e01344.

27. Feng, X., Jia, Y., Zhu, R., Li, K., Guan, Z., Chen, Y.* Comparative transcriptome analysis of scaled and scaleless skins in Gymnocypris eckloni provides insights into the molecular mechanism of scale degeneration. BMC Genomics, 2020, 21: 1–10.

28. Jia, Y., Kennard, M. J., Liu, Y., Sui, X., Chen, Y., Li, K., Wang, G., Chen, Y.* Understanding invasion success of Pseudorasbora parva in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: Insights from life-history and environmental filters. Science of the Total Environment, 2019, 694: 133739.

29. Jia, Y., Liu, Y., Chen, K., Sun, H., Chen, Y.* Climate, habitat and human disturbance driving the variation of life-history traits of the invasive goldfish Carassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) in a Tibetan Plateau river. Aquatic Invasions, 2019, 14(4): 724–737.

30. Feng, X., Jia, Y., Zhu, R., Chen, K., Chen, Y.* Characterization and analysis of the transcriptome in Gymnocypris selincuoensis on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau using single-molecule long-read sequencing and RNA-seq. DNA Research, 2019, 26(4): 353–363.

31. Tao, J., Kennard, M. J., Jia, Y., Chen, Y.* Climate-driven synchrony in growth-increment chronologies of fish from the world's largest high-elevation river. Science of the Total Environment, 2018, 645: 339–346.

32. Feng, X., He, D., Sui, X., Chen, Y., Chen, Y.* Morphological and genetic divergence between lake and river populations of Triplophysa in Ngangtse Co, Tibet. Mitochondrial DNA Part A, 2018, 29(5): 778–784.

33. Feng, X., Yu, X., Fu, B., Wang, X., Liu, H., Pang, M., Tong, J.* A high-resolution genetic linkage map and QTL fine mapping for growth-related traits and sex in the Yangtze River common carp (Cyprinus carpio haematopterus). BMC Genomics, 2018, 19: 1–13.

34. Tao, J., He, D., Kennard, M. J., Ding, C., Bunn, S. E., Liu, C., Jia, Y., Che, R., Chen, Y.* Strong evidence for changing fish reproductive phenology under climate warming on the Tibetan Plateau. Global Change Biology, 2018, 24: 2093–2104.

35. Liang, Y., He, D., Jia, Y., Sun, H., Chen, Y.* Phylogeographic studies of schizothoracine fishes on the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau reveal the highest known glacial microrefugia. Scientific Reports, 2017, 7(1): 10983.

36. Feng, X., He, D., Shan, G., Tao, J., Chen, Y.* Integrated analysis of mRNA and miRNA expression profiles in Ptychobarbus dipogon and Schizothorax oconnori, insight into genetic mechanisms of high altitude adaptation in the schizothoracine fishes. Gene Reports, 2017, 9: 74–80.

37. Sui, X.*, Chen, Y., Lu, Z., Chen, Y. A bibliometric analysis of research papers related to the Mekong River. Scientometrics, 2015, 105(1): 419–434.

38. Xiong, W., Sui, X., Liang, S., Chen, Y.* Non-native freshwater fish species in China. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 2015, 25(4): 651–687.