[Coexistence strategies of invaded gobies in the Dianchi Lake, Yunnan, China].

Gobiids are widespread invasive species, with many species from this group usually invade into the same ecosystem simultaneously. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the coexi-stence of different gobiid species in the sympatric habitats is a key issue in fish invasion ecology. Incorporating morphological analyses, spatial distribution survey, and trophic analyses, we examined the coexistence strategy of and related species (the earlier invaders) in Dianchi Lake, Yunnan, China. Our results showed significant differences in morphology and spatial distribution among the four invasive gobies species (., , , and ). The spatial niche index of was the highest. Food composition between and other gobies was significantly different, with the former mainly feeding on and sp. The trophic diversity index of was the highest. Overall, we found that morphological differences, spatial niche diffe-rentiation, and trophic niche differentiation contributed to the coexistence of the gobies in Dianchi Lake, which could help reduce interspecific competition. Importantly, the feeding strategy is the key factor determining population size and habitas of during their competition with the other gobies, and finally contributing to the dominant position in the study area.