The Extinction of the Chinese Paddlefish Psephurus gladius: Transnationalism, Technology Transfer, and Timescape

Abstract

The extinction of the Chinese paddlefish Psephurus gladius is examined in the context of transnationalism, technology transfer, and the compressing timescape of human activity, not just from the perspective of Psephurus, but also sturgeons and other long-lived, ancient and not-so-ancient declining fish species. Information is presented and questions raised as to why the extinction of Psephurus occurred, what broader transnational and technological trends may have led to it, and what can be learned and done to save the remaining Acipenseriform and other vulnerable species. Despite Psephurus (and its close relatives) surviving through millions of years of evolutionary time, its rapid descent to extinction, a result of a combination of overharvest, dam construction blocking spawning migrations, and pollution, is best understood in a broader geopolitical context of transfer of technologies for river development and use without adequate concurrent introduction of ecological knowledge needed for species persistence. The slowly developing life histories of Psephurus and many other fishes in a rapidly compressing timescape had led to their formerly adaptive life histories becoming maladaptive in the wild. Biologists and managers must start thinking more about what measures must be implemented immediately to maintain biodiversity of these long-lived but now ill-adapted species in the wild in an increasingly human-dominated, timescape-compressed world.