The Yangtze River, the longest river in Asia, used to be one of the only two rivers in the world that was home to two different species of dolphin—the Yangtze finless porpoise and the Baiji dolphin. Their population, distributions, behaviours and survivorship provide valuable insights into the impacts of human activities on marine life, and the threats brought about by marine pollution and fishery equipment. The vaquita is the rarest marine mammal in the world, and critically endangered, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Only around 800 of the animals remain in the river, and that number is rapidly dropping. Yangtze … Welcome to Prezi in the Classroom: Ideas to challenge and inspire your students The Yangtze finless porpoise will eat what is available in it’s location. The Yangtze River’s finless porpoise is one of the very few porpoises that live in fresh water. Finless porpoises are on top of the Yangtze River’s food chain. Animals everyday are slaughtered by guns or darts, or even plastic left lying around for them to mistake as food. But just like the Chinese alligator, efforts are being made to decrease sand dredging, which muddies the lakes and disturbs the porpoise's habitat. Posted on 25 March 2011. The Finless Porpoise is also in danger of becoming extinct. Toxic and hazardous chemicals pass through the food chain of the whole ecosystem. The finless porpoise is a small marine mammal that can be found swimming in the coastal waters of Asia primarily in the Yangtze, Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Dolphins and porpoises are at the top of the food chain and have an important role in the overall balance of the marine environment. Dolphins and porpoises are at the top of the food chain and have an important role in the overall balance of the marine environment. Its small size and cute 'smile' make it much loved in China and beyond. They are also very popular with tourists. See all species It was only recently that the ‘finless porpoise’ was split into two distinct species – the ‘Indo-Pacific’ and the ‘narrow-ridged.’ Within the latter there are even two additional sub-species – the Yangtze finless porpoise (N. a. asiaeorientalis) and the East Asian finless porpoise … On June 1, 2016, the Ministry of Agriculture published a draft plan to … However, in 2006 the Baiji dolphin was declared functionally extinct. We are the ultimate predators, even if we don't mean it. They can tell us a lot about the health of the ocean, such as the presence of pollution or the decline in fish. This porpoise makes up one of six species of porpoise and belongs to the group known as Cetacea, which includes all species of whale, dolphin and porpoise and is divided into two suborders … One of the most destructive threats is overfishing. Which the diet consists of only fish and shrimp. Finless porpoises are on top of the Yangtze River’s food chain. The Yangtze River, the longest river in Asia, was one of the only two rivers in the world home to two different species of dolphin — the Yangtze finless porpoise and the Baiji d The finless porpoise, ... As the only freshwater sub-species of the whole porpoise family, the finless porpoise sits at the top of the food chain in the Yangtze River. The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides), or finless porpoise, is one of seven porpoise species. Numbers of Indo-Pacific finless porpoises in Hong Kong and adjacent waters are estimated to be at least 217 individuals; in the coastal waters of Bangladesh there are 1,382 porpoises. “There are between 700 and 900 finless porpoises in the Yangtze River itself, with about another 500 in Poyang and Dongting Lakes,” said Wang. The Yangtze finless porpoise, the only mammal in the river, is considered rarer than the giant panda, and although it is at the top of the river's food chain, it is threatened with extinction. On June 1, 2016, the Ministry of Agriculture published a … Blog. Since the Yangtze finless porpoise already has a large diet, overfishing takes away much of their food. Like other harbour porpoises and dolphins, finless porpoises are the apex predators in the food chain. As they are situated at the top of this food chain, the finless porpoise ends up taking in all of the accumulated toxicity. Urgent action is needed to save the finless porpoise, underlines Wang Ding, deputy director of the Institute of Hydrobiology. Like other harbour porpoises and dolphins, finless porpoises are the apex predators in the food chain. Most of the population has been found around the Korean peninsula in the Yellow and East China Seas, although a freshwater population is found around Jiuduansha near Shanghai at the mouth of China's Yangtze River. This is the cause of starvation amongst the porpoise … They can tell us a lot about the health of the ocean, such as the presence of pollution or the decline in fish.