Adaptation of Japanese kissing loach (Parabotia curta) to floodplain environment and conservation and restoration of their spawning ground

Abstract

Japanese kissing loach Parabotia curta (Cypriniformes, Botiidae) is one of the most endangered freshwater fishes in Japan. This species inhabits in a narrow region of western Honshu Island. The loach inhabits rivers and irrigation channels with gravel substrates hiding in crevices or holes, and spawns for a few days in the early rainy season at temporarily submerged, flooded grounds, which were originally very common lowland environments in monsoon Asia. However, recent artificial environmental changes, especially river improvements and farm land consolidation, have destroyed such environments and resulted in many local population extinction. Volunteers and Japanese/local governments are performing restoration and maintenance of artificial floodplains for the spawning as well as surveillance of poaching, but this loach is still critically endangered with some serious problems. In the agricultural area which has many restrictions, conservation techniques cannot be fully put to practical use. Although the technique of the ecology and civil engineering is effective for the restoration of floodplain environment and improvement of habitat, the sociological approach is crucial to utilize the technique in the local community.