Academic Report of School of Mathematical Sciences [2026] No. 005

(Series Report for High-Level University Construction No. 1264)

Title：Research on the Evolutionary Trends of Hongze Lake Ecosystem Dynamics Under the Decade-Long Fishing Ban

Speaker：Professor Lai Zhang (Yangzhou University)

Time：10:00-11:00, Jan. 9, 2026

Location：Tencent Meeting (Number: 214-651-075, Password: 2026)

Abstract：Since the implementation of the ten-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River Basin in 2020, its ecological effects and long-term management strategies have become focal points of attention. This study aims to predict the evolutionary trends of the Hongze Lake ecosystem during the fishing ban period, investigate the differences in recovery rates among various functional groups and their driving factors, and evaluate the impact of differentiated fishing strategies on water quality. We constructed a species-based food web model and calibrated it using Hongze Lake data. Findings indicate that the ten-year ban significantly accelerated ecosystem recovery, doubling total food web biomass and increasing water transparency by over 40%. However, recovery times varied from 300 to 3000 days across functional groups. Recovery rates were influenced by static life history traits (trophic level, body size) and intraspecific/interspecific competition, with some functional groups experiencing developmental bottlenecks in juveniles due to resource competition. Comparing multiple fishing schemes, an optimization algorithm-based strategy proved most effective. By prioritizing fishing of detritivorous and benthic fish, moderately fishing carnivorous fish, and protecting pelagic and filter-feeding fish, this strategy achieved a synergistic balance between water quality improvement and ecological stability, providing decision support for long-term ecological management in the Yangtze River Basin.

Speaker Profile：Lai Zhang , Dean of the School of Mathematical Sciences at Yangzhou University, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the School of Mathematical Sciences at Yangzhou University and completed his Ph.D. at the Technical University of Denmark in February 2012. From March 2012 to August 2016, he conducted postdoctoral research at Umeå University in Sweden. He was appointed to a tenured research position in June 2017 and joined the School of Mathematics at Yangzhou University in September 2017. In 2018, he was selected for the Jiangsu Province Distinguished Professor Program and received the Second Jiangsu Province Industrial and Applied Mathematics Award - Youth Award. He has led two Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation General Projects and two National Natural Science Foundation General Projects, publishing over 60 SCI-indexed journal articles. He has led two provincial-level teaching reform research projects (2023, 2025 priority projects), published two textbooks (2024 digital textbook, 2025), and received one first prize for outstanding undergraduate thesis in Jiangsu Province (2021). He received the First Prize in the 10th Jiangsu Provincial Mathematics Fundamentals Course Teaching Competition for Young Faculty (2024), the First Prize in the 7th Jiangsu Provincial Smart Teaching Competition for Normal University Faculty (2025), and the First Prize in the 7th Yangtze River Delta Smart Teaching Competition for Normal University Faculty (2025).                    

Faculty and students are welcome to attend!

Invited by: Pei Yuan

School of Mathematical Sciences

January 8, 2026