Supporting materials Baiyangdian Lake fish species composition based on data obtained from the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. Since the main literature on the fish species composition that we have cited were published in Chinese, we have summarized the key details from the various fish sample surveys that have been conducted in Baiyangdian Lake in Tables S1 to S6. Species within a given taxon are listed in order of decreasing abundance. Cao (1991) investigated the fish species composition, and reported 7 orders, 11 families, 23 genera, and 24 species. Table S1. Baiyangdian Lake fish species composition (Cao 1991). Orders Families Species Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Cyprinus carpio Carassius auratus Hemibarbus maculatus Pseudorasbora parva Abbottina rivularis Hemiculter leucisculus Hemiculter bleekeri Parabramis pekinensis Ctenopharyngodon idellus Acanthorhodeus atranalis Rhodeus sinensis Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Aristichthys nobilis Cobitidae Misgurnus anguillicaudatus Cobitis taenia Siluriformes Siluridae Parasilurus asotus Bagridae Pseudobagrus fulvidraco Symbranchiformes Symbranchidae Monopterus albus Ophiocephaliformes Ophiocephalidae Ophiocephalus argus Perciformes Anabantidae Macropodus chinensis Serranidae Gobiiformes Cyprinodontiformes Siniperca chuatsi Eleotridae Hypseleotris swinhonis Gobiidae Acentrogobius giurinus Cyprinodontidae Oryzias latipes In the same year, Han et al. (1991) investigated the fish composition, and reported 7 orders, 12 families, 23 genera, and 24 species. Table S2 Baiyangdian Lake fish species composition (Han et al. 1991). Orders Families Species Cyprinus carpio Carassius auratus Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Ctenopharyngodon idellus Hemiculter leucisculus Culter erythropterus Hemibarbus maculatus Pseudorasbora parva Abbottina rivularis Salmonidae Siluridae Bagridae Cyprinodontiformes Cypriniformes Symbranchiformes Symbranchidae Pseudoperilampus lighti Chilogobio nigripinnis Cobitis taenia Misgurnus anguillicaudatus Paramisgurnus dabryanus Neosalanx andorssons Parasilurus asotus Pseudobagrus fulvidraco Cyprinidae Monopterus albus Ophiocephaliformes Ophiocephalidae Perciformes Eleotridae Gobiidae Belontiidae Mastacembelidae Ophiocephalus argus Hypseleotris swinhonis Ctenogobius giurinus Macropodus chinensis Mastacembelus aculeatus Cobitidae Salmoniformes Siluriformes In 2003, the group of Prof. Cao investigated the fish species composition again, and reported 7 orders, 12 families, 30 genera, and 33 species. Table S3 Baiyangdian Lake fish species composition (Cao et al. 2003). Orders Families Species Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Cyprinus carpio Carassius auratus Hemibarbus maculatus Pseudorasbora parva Abbottina rivularis Chilogobio nigripinnis Hemiculter leucisculus Hemiculter bleekeri Culter alburnus Megalobrama terminalis Parabramis pekinensis Ctenopharyngodon idellus Rhodeus sinensis Acanthorhodeus atranalis Acanthorhodeus tonkinensis Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Aristichthys nobilis Cobitidae Misgurnus anguillicaudatus Paramisgurnus dabryanus Characinidae Colossoma brachypomum Mastacembeliformes Mastacembelidae Mastacembelus aculeatus Siluriformes Siluridae Parasilurus asotus Bagridae Pseudobagrus fulvidraco Pseudobagrus vachellis Symbranchiformes Ophiocephaliformes Perciformes Symbranchidae Ophiocephalidae Anabantidae Eleotridae Gobiidae Leiocassis ussuriensis Monopterus albus Ophiocephalus argus Macropodus chinensis Siniperca chuatsi Hypseleotris swinhonis Ctenogobius giurinus Acentrogobius giurinus Cyprinodontiformes Cyprinodontidae Oryzias latipes Zhao et al. (2007) investigated the fish species composition, and reported 7 orders, 11 families and 27 species. Table S4 Baiyangdian Lake fish species composition (Zhao et al. 2007). Orders Families Species Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Cyprinus carpio Carassius auratus Ctenopharyngodon idellus Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Aristichthys nobilis Hemiculter leucisculus Erythroculter ilishaeformi Megalobrama amblycephala Pseudorasbora parva Sarcocheilichthys nigripinnis Abbottina rivularis Saurogobio dabryi Chilogobio nigripinnis Rhodeus sinensis Acanthorhodeus atranalis Cobitidae Cobitis taenia Misgurnus anguillicaudatus Paramisgurnus dabryanus Mastacembeliformes Mastacembelidae Mastacembelus aculeatus Siluriformes Siluridae Parasilurus asotus Bagridae Pseudobagrus fulvidraco Symbranchiformes Symbranchidae Monopterus albus Ophiocephaliformes Perciformes Cyprinodontiformes Ophiocephalidae Eleotridae Gobiidae Cichlidae Cyprinodontidae Ophiocephalus argus Hypseleotris swinhonis Acentrogobius giurinus Oreochromis niloticus Oryzias latipes Xie & He (2010) investigated the fish species composition, and reported 7 orders, 11 families and 25 species. Table S5 Baiyangdian Lake fish species composition (Xie & He 2010). Orders Families Species Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Cyprinus carpio Carassius auratus Pseudorasbora parva Abbottina rivularis Hemiculter leucisculus Ctenopharyngodon idellus Rhodeus sinensis Acanthorhodeus atranalis Cobitidae Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Aristichthys nobilis Opsariichthys bidens Erythroculter ilishaeformi Megalobrama amblycephala Misgurnus anguillicaudatus Paramisgurnus dabryanus Mastacembeliformes Mastacembelidae Mastacembelus aculeatus Siluriformes Siluridae Parasilurus asotus Bagridae Pseudobagrus fulvidraco Symbranchiformes Symbranchidae Monopterus albus Ophiocephaliformes Ophiocephalidae Ophiocephalus argus Perciformes Anabantidae Macropodus chinensis Eleotridae Hypseleotris swinhonis Gobiidae Ctenogobius giurinus Acentrogobius giurinus Cyprinodontiformes Cyprinodontidae Oryzias latipes Ma et al. (2011) investigated the fish composition, and reported 7 orders, 11 families and 25 species. Table S6 Baiyangdian Lake fish species composition (Ma et al. 2011). Orders Families Species Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Erythroculter ilishaeformi Hemiculter leucisculus Carassius auratus Aristichthys nobilis Ctenopharyngodon idellus Cyprinus carpio Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Pseudorasbora parva Megalobrama amblycephala Opsariichthys bidens Abbottina rivularis Rhodeus sinensis Acanthorhodeus atranalis Acheilognathus chankaensis Cobitidae Misgurnus anguillicaudatus Paramisgurnus dabryanus Mastacembeliformes Mastacembelidae Mastacembelus aculeatus Siluriformes Siluridae Parasilurus asotus Bagridae Pseudobagrus fulvidraco Symbranchiformes Symbranchidae Monopterus albus Ophiocephaliformes Ophiocephalidae Ophiocephalus argus Perciformes Cyprinodontiformes Anabantidae Eleotridae Gobiidae Cyprinodontidae Macropodus chinensis Hypseleotris swinhonis Ctenogobius giurinus Oryzias latipes References Cao Y.P. (1991) Initial report on restoration of freshwater fish after recharging water in Baiyangdian Lake. Freshwater Fisheries, 5, 20-22. (in Chinese) Cao Y.P., Wang W. & Zhang Y.B. (2003) Fish composition survey in Baiyangdian Lake. Chinese Journal of Zoology, 38(3), 65-69. (in Chinese) Han X.F. & Wang S.A. (1991) Fish ecology after recharging water in Baiyangdian Lake. Hebei Fisheries, 6, 8-11. (in Chinese) Zhao C.L., Xiao G.H., Luo N.T., Yuan Q.Y. & Deng P.C. (2007) Fish composition survey in Baiyangdian Lake. Hebei Fisheries, 11, 49-50. (in Chinese) Xie S. & He H.D. (2010) Fish composition survey post-environmental flow release from Yellow River to Baiyangdian Lake, Heibei Province. Science & Technology Information, 9, 17-18. (in Chinese) Ma X.L., Liu C.Q., Wang Y., Wang J.X. & Zhang Y.J. (2011) Food web of Baiyangdian Lake based on fish diet. Journal of Hydroecology, 32(4), 85-90. (in Chinese)