Producer: Popular Science China
Production: Lizard Game Science Maker Team Cai Bo Zhu Bicheng
Producer: Computer Network Information Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences
We've written a previous article titled "Beware of Bullfrogs, Don't Release Them!" " article, to remind everyone of the harm of releasing bullfrogs. These days, when I opened the computer, there was a message everywhere that "the Xiamen release pond was full of turtles, and after moving, the turtles were reproduced in the sun". Remember the news on April 8 this year that "Xiamen Nanputuo Temple Released Fish and Turtles into a Disaster and Caught 4,000 Kilograms"? After only one month of the last "great cleanup", the release pond of Nanputuo Temple was once again "full of turtles".
Although release is no longer a new topic, most people lack scientific cognition and interpretation of release activities - today's release has quietly "changed its taste".
The scene of the event
On April 8, 2016, due to the large number of fish and turtles in the Nanputuo Temple release pond in Xiamen, Fujian Province, coupled with the random release of a large number of good men and women, it was difficult for the animals in the pool to survive, and the staff transported all the fish to the reservoir, which was said to be at least three or four thousand pounds, and the scene attracted a large number of citizens to watch. It is not difficult to see from the photos that the released animals are mainly exotic species of tilapia, red-eared turtles and alligator turtles.
However, just one month after the cleanup, on May 12, 2016, the release pond of Nanputuo Temple reproduced the scene of "turtles gathering and stacking arhats to bask in the sun". It is necessary to correct here that the people who pile up rohans in the release pond are actually red-eared turtles (also called Brazilian turtles, native to the United States), rather than the turtles advertised by the media.
Figure 1. Nanputuo Temple Release Pond (On April 8, 2016, the staff carried out a "big clean-up", and the scene attracted a large number of citizens to watch)
Figure 2. Nanputuo Temple fishing site on April 8 (basically all tilapia)
Figure 3. Images of the Fishing Site of Nanputuo Temple on April 8 (with a considerable number of Brazilian turtles and alligator turtles) are from the network
Figure 4. Nanputuo Temple Release Pond (On May 12, only the past one month of the release pool reproduced the scene of "turtles stacking and stacking arhats to bask in the sun")
Figure 5. The temple staff posted notice boards reminding good men and women not to release their lives into the pool
What are the popular objects for release?
Before answering this question, let's discuss why people love to release life.
The release activity has existed since ancient times, and the narrow sense refers only to human life, and the broad sense refers to all human life and animals. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, China had the idea of releasing them on special days, and even special fishing birds for release had emerged. Nowadays, the release activities have "become the norm", especially favored by good men and women. The reason why the release activity is highly respected is that it is inseparable from the Buddhist doctrine of "abstaining from killing and protecting life", and secondly, it is inseparable from the superstitious thinking of the Chinese people that the release of life can pray for blessings and eliminate disasters.
So, what are the popular objects for release?
According to statistics, the main domestic releases are loach, "four big fish", Fushou snail, bullfrog, tilapia, Brazilian turtle, "crayfish" and alligator turtle, etc., the latter six are well-known exotic species, there is potential ecological harm, the South Putuo Temple release pond is also mainly these animals.
Everyone must be familiar with the red-eared turtle (Brazilian turtle). It is probably the most widely kept reptile in the world, listed as one of the 100 most dangerous invasive species in the world, and is recognized as an ecological killer in the world.
The List of Invasive Alien Species in China (Third Batch), jointly formulated by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, includes the Brazilian turtle. The Brazilian turtle was first introduced to China in the 1980s as a food turtle turtle, because there are two red patches or lines on the sides of the back of the head, such as red ears, so it is also known as the red-eared turtle. The shell and body of the red-eared turtle have many yellow and green stripes.
The red-eared turtle is a subspecies of painted turtle that native to the southeastern United States and Mexico. Breeding escape, pet discarding, wrong release, etc. have led to its rapid development in the wild, and China has become one of the important invasion sites for red-eared turtles. Once the red-eared turtle with super fertility and predatory ability enters the wild environment, it rapidly expands the population in the new environment lacking natural enemies, squeezing the living resources and space of the native turtles, and seriously threatening the survival of the native turtles. In addition, they are the main culprit in the transmission of Salmonella. Salmonella may cause acute enteritis, enteric fever, and sepsis in humans and animals.
Figure 6. Escape to the Red-eared Turtle Travels Scripta elegans at Daweishan National Nature Reserve
Figure 7. Travelys scripta elegans sold at the entrance of Baoguang Temple in Chengdu's xindu
Tilapia is well known for its delicious taste and tender flesh, tilapia commonly known as South Sea crucian carp, African piglet, Fushou fish, native to Lake Tanganyika in Africa, was introduced to China in the 1950s as an excellent protein source economic fish.
As everyone knows, they have also been officially included in the "List of Invasive Alien Species in China (Third Batch)" and are one of the 100 most dangerous invasive species in the world.
Figure 8. Tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus (from Wikipedia)
Tilapia resemble crucian carp, with spiny fins and a mandarin fish. Tilapia is a broad saline fish, which can survive in seawater and fresh water, has a strong adaptability to low oxygen environment, generally inhabits the bottom layer of water, and usually changes with the change of water temperature or fish body size. It has excellent adaptability and strong fertility. Due to the characteristics of tilapia, low oxygen tolerance and strong reproduction, misplaced tilapia will cause unpredictable threats and damage to many endemic native fish and ecosystems in China.
Figure 9. Chelydra serpentina, a crocodile turtle sold at the entrance of Baoguang Temple in Chengdu's new capital
The largest dorsal carapace of the alligator turtle is 60 cm long. The dorsal armor resembles a hemispherical roof, somewhat tinyly jagged, ranging in color from dark olive green to brown. The upper jaw of the small alligator turtle resembles a hook, but the hook is small, the tentacles are only a few, the dorsal carapace is brownish yellow or black brown, there are 3 longitudinal ridges, the rib shield is slightly raised, and the ridge gradually wears out over time. The ventral carapace is greyish white , with no upper edge shield , and the tail is slightly shorter , most notably characterized by a serrated ridge on the dorsal side of the tail , also known as a caudal spine. Due to its low cost and strong adaptability, the alligator turtle is favored by domestic turtle enthusiasts.
Unfortunately, however, they have also become popular for release. Crocodile turtles like to take the initiative to attack, fierce and bloodthirsty. The head and limbs are strong and powerful, usually not aggressive in the water, but on land they can rush and bite. Feeding mainly on fish, shrimp, frogs, salamanders, small snakes, ducks, water birds, etc., once escaped to inaccessible places, it may bring great disasters to these native species such as fish and shrimp, amphibians, reptiles and even birds.
Is release right or wrong?
The animal behaviorist Mr. Conrad Lawrenz once said: "One must have a genuine feeling for all life in order to discover the fascinating and awe-inspiring beauty of nature." I believe that this feeling is a kind of human nature, deeply in our hearts, but it gradually fades with the contact between people's living environment and nature. Perhaps through the process of release, people can increase their perception and understanding of themselves and the lives around them. The purpose of release is to show compassion and accumulate virtue and good deeds.
However, it has to be admitted that the demand for quick success and short-term profit has become the main feature of today's release activities. According to the British "Economist" magazine, the number of fish, snakes, turtles and birds released in China each year exceeds 200 million, and the release organization makes nearly 1 million yuan in profits every year. The real price behind this is the animals that are released, and where they come from and where they belong – the ecological environment.
The current state of release is worrying. Most of the release activities are organized by specialized personnel, and the activity organizers provide the release of animals, and the citizens buy them at their own expense, while most of the animals used for release in the market come from illegal arrests in the wild. According to incomplete estimates, Hong Kong sells 630,000 birds a year. The vast majority of them come from the wild, and their destination is to be released. Yet half of all birds die of stress, disease or mishandling during capture and transport – not release, but killing in disguise!
After all, wildlife resources are limited, so the release organization targets cheap tilapia, red-eared turtles, bullfrogs and other exotic species with wide sources and cheap prices, which is also an important reason why today's popular release targets are mainly invasive alien species.
Today's release activities have a great feeling of "good intentions do bad things". On the one hand, it stems from people's lack of awareness of wildlife protection and biosecurity, and on the other hand, it is driven by the market under the demand for interests, which makes today's release "change the taste".
Release promotes compassion and accumulation of virtue and good deeds, which is a good thing, but if it is blindly released and wrongly released, it will cause irreparable harm to the ecosystem. Ecological balance should be considered for release.
Finally, after returning to the scene of the incident, after seeing the news that the staff had salvaged all the fish and turtles in the release pond and kindly "moved" them to the reservoir, it was inevitable to worry.
What are the consequences of "kindness" releasing these invasive alien species into reservoirs? Can we still see the colorful native fish swimming freely in the reservoir? After only one month of release, the release pool is "full of turtles" again, how can unscientific release be solved? These are questions worth pondering for each of us.
It is gratifying that the phenomenon of unscientific release has attracted the attention of relevant national organizations and institutions, and on May 17 this week, the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Office of the State Administration for Religious Affairs jointly issued the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Office of the State Administration for Religious Affairs on Further Regulating the Release (Breeding and Stocking) of Aquatic Organisms in religious Circles" to regulate the release of aquatic organisms. The document calls for further enhancing the awareness of the legal system and releasing them in accordance with laws and regulations; further publicizing the concept of scientific ecology and scientifically and rationally releasing them; and further standardizing the release of epidemic behavior and the release of compassion and civilization. It is believed that with the joint efforts of national policies and relevant organizations, the release activities will gradually embark on the road of civilized science.
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