Chinese Academy of Sciences East Dongting Lake is one of the largest wintering site for Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus. However, its population size in this site has been declining significantly over the past decade, which might be related to the phenological mismatches between migratory birds and food availability. Recently, researchers from the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture (ISA) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences explored the consequences of water regime changes on phenological mismatches and detected the relative role of the mismatch as a driver of annual variations in abundance and distribution of the Lesser White-fronted Goose in East Dongting Lake.