If the lake is compared to the gems set on the earth, then Lugu Lake must be the purest and deepest sapphire on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.
The "sapphire" on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau - Lugu Lake (photo: Huang Shuo).
01 The magical and beautiful Lugu Lake Located at the junction of Sichuan Province and Yunnan Province, Lugu Lake is the third deepest lake in China, with an average water depth of 403 meters, and the transparency of the lake can reach more than 10 meters. Boating on the lake, just a few rays of sunshine, you can enjoy the underwater craggy rocks, the lake's unique aquatic plants - wave leaf sea cauliflower, the underwater branches and leaves are fluttering, snow-white flowers floating on the water surface, rippling with the waves, showing enchanting. Looking at the lake, the mountain islands scattered in the lake are full of green trees. In autumn and winter, flocks of red-billed gulls, ruddy shelducks and other wintering waterfowl on the lake either rise and fall on the surface of the lake, or soar ...... the top of the waves
Ripple Leaf Sea Cauliflower (*from the documentary "Underwater, China You Didn't See").
Wintering waterfowl in Lugu Lake(Photo: Huang Shuo).
Thanks to the rapid development of road traffic and new **, Lugu Lake, which is hidden in the mountains of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, is gradually showing itself in front of the world, and its pristine natural beauty and the pure beauty of the local Mosuo culture complement each other, attracting many tourists to come.
Lugu Lake Wetland (Photo: Huang Shuo).
Colorful traditional costumes of the Mosuo people (** from) 02 The mysterious water elf - the schizophrenic fish
As a natural scenic area known for its lakes, it is important to mention another group of natural spirits of Lugu Lake, fish, which is an important part of the lake ecosystem. As the saying goes, "when the water is clear, there are no fish", but under the clear surface of Lugu Lake, it was once a paradise for three endemic schizophrenia species: small-mouthed schizophrenia, Ninglang schizophrenia and thick-lipped schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia belongs to the order Cypriniformes and the Cyprinidae family, and has 1 row of large scales on each side of its ** and fin base, forming a crack on the midline of the abdomen between the two rows of rump scales, hence the name of the schizophrenia. Lugu Lake is a plateau fault dissolution and collapse lake formed in the Quaternary period, and there is no obvious water level fluctuation since its formation, so it is impossible to form a temporary geographical isolation in the lake, that is to say, the three species of schizophrenia in the lake are not formed by geographical isolation, they are typical cases of homologous differentiation of species, and have high scientific research value. 
Three endemic schizophrenia species in Lugu Lake (**Three new species of schizophrenia in Lugu Lake on the Yunnan Plateau) and "Speciation of Schizophrenia in Lugu Lake").
As early as the 60s of the 20th century, three endemic schizophrenia species were the most important economic fish in Lugu Lake, with an annual output of 500 tons (1966 data). Schizophrenia is delicious, firm and nutritious, and once became one of the main incomes of residents around Lugu Lake. However, when visiting Lugu Lake nowadays, it is no longer possible to taste this gift from nature. Interviews with staff from the reserve's management bureau and local fishermen revealed that schizophrenia is a rarity in Lugu Lake, with most fishermen saying they haven't seen schizophrenia for at least a decade.
03 The schizophrenia is on the verge of extinction
In 2018, the author's team conducted an in-depth investigation and research on Lugu Lake, with the help of hydroacoustics and other scientific and technological means, to carry out a large-scale echo detection of fish in the whole lake in summer, and at the same time, combined with multiple fish sampling points and the catches of surrounding fishermen, the distribution and resources of different fish were studied and evaluated, and of course, they were also looking for those mysterious water elves.
Schematic diagram of fish survey hydroacoustic routes and fish sampling sites
Hydroacoustic sounding and its working interface.
Fish resources survey at Lugu Lake (Photo: Huang Shuo).
After several days of continuous sampling, only two small-mouthed schizophrenia were found in the waters near Xiaoyuba, and the other two types of schizophrenia did not appear in all sampling sites and the catches of surrounding fishermen, suggesting that Xiaoyuba is probably the only area where Schizophrenia exists in Lugu Lake.
The survey data also showed that the distribution of fish in the waters near Xiaoyuba, Liwubi Island and Hongyazi was relatively dense, but the fish were mainly introduced by foreign fish, namely crucian carp, carp and grass carp, as well as other smaller, unintentionally introduced species. Among them, crucian carp and carp account for a relatively large proportion of the catch, and they are the two fish species with the highest yield in Lugu Lake at present. The results of this survey show that the survival status of schizophrenia in Lugu Lake is not optimistic. Other surveys in recent years have also confirmed this result: the density of three endemic schizophrenia species in Lugu Lake has been extremely low and is on the verge of extinction. 
Fish density distribution map of Lugu Lake and histogram of fish density in each region.
Composition and quantity of fish at each sampling site in Lugu Lake.
There may be many reasons for the current status of endemic fish in Lugu Lake, such as overfishing by fishermen and irregular fishing gearIntentional or unintentional introduction of exotic fish;Schizophrenia spawning grounds, migratory corridors damaged by natural disasters and water conservancy projects, etc. But what is certain is that if effective measures are not taken in time, the precious fish endemic to these highland lakes will forever be far away from us......
All life is worth saving and prolonging, and it has its meaning and value. As the most intelligent life on the planet, human beings have an obligation to take responsibility for the future and future of other living beings. With the use of wisdom and technology, and timely measures, it is possible to save these endangered species.
For the schizophrenia endemic to Lugu Lake, Lugu Lake may be their last habitat on Earth. It is of great significance for the conservation and population restoration of local fish in Lugu Lake to take measures to protect and restore small fishing dams and other waters with similar habitats, and to carry out publicity and education on endangered fish knowledge for surrounding residents.
In addition, the schizophrenia has special needs for the environment, once caught by fishermen, even if it is released in time, the pulling and hooking of the net will also lead to a high mortality rate of injured schizophrenia, therefore, the construction of rescue and rescue conservation stations is the only means to alleviate the contradiction, which is also a necessary measure for the artificial breeding and multiplication of subsequent schizophrenia;At the same time, understanding the competition and coexistence between exotic and native fish species is also necessary for the future introduction of artificially bred schizophrenia and other economic fishes.
Beautiful Lugu Lake (Photo: Huang Shuo).
Huang Shuo, Li Lianxiang, Dao Wei, et al. Analysis of spatial distribution characteristics of fish in Lugu Lake and resource assessment[J].South China Fisheries Science, 2020, 16(1): 53-61 doi: 10.12131/20190180.
Written by |Huang Shuo.
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