Abstract
Global climate change has led to a warmer world, changing the migratory
and breeding behaviors of many species, and short-distance migrants may
benefit from climate change. With climate change leading to an
increasingly disordered climate, we show here that a disordered spring
climate disturbs the migration and breeding of a short-distance
anadromous fish. In 2020, on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, an abnormally
low temperature in April delayed the migration rhythm of Gymnocypris
przewalskii by nearly 10 days, while the gonadal development rhythm of
the breeding population was almost normal. The phenology mismatch
decreased the migrating populations by 30–70%, reducing the larval
flux by nearly 80%. This case reveals that for short-distance migrants,
different phenologies within the same species respond to disordered
climates differently, which leads to phenology mismatches and then
threatens the species. Along with increasing local extreme weather and
climate events, short-distance migrants need more attention and
conservation actions.