In this overview (introductory article to a special issue including 14 papers), we consider all main types of natural and artificial inland freshwater habitas (fwh). For each type, we identify the main biodiversity patterns and ecological features, h...
The giant freshwater whipray is a large-bodied stingray species that is listed as endangered across its known range from India through Southeast Asia. However, little is known about the species’ ecology, biology, and conservation status. We rev...
Freshwater mussels are threatened with extirpation in North America. They are a sentinel species for ecosystem function and contribute towards many ecosystem services. As mussels require clean water to survive, and since conserving ecosystem services...
Human dimensions in endangered species conservation are often overlooked. However, including human dimensions in conservation projects can help conservationists integrate social and ecological dimensions and investigate individual or society’s...
Freshwater mussels are an endangered group of animals, especially in the water bodies of Central and Western Europe. Conservation priorities were established for many endangered freshwater mussel species in the last decade. Here, we present new data...
9 December 2022
This paper is a synthetic overview of some of the threats, risks, and integrated water management elements in freshwater ecosystems. The paper provides some discussion of human needs and water conservation issues related to freshwater systems: (1) in...
Freshwater ecosystems are a significant entity that govern the livelihood of people and are an important source of food, employment, and recreation. However, climate change is impacting freshwater ecosystems by altering their natural habitats. The pu...
Increased human-induced environmental degradation in the Ganga River poses significant threats to freshwater biodiversity and the livelihoods of river-dependent communities. Community-based livelihood initiatives are grounded in the ecological sustai...
Biodiversity assessment is important for evaluating community conservation status. The haor basin in Sylhet Division represents a transitional zone with high species availability, rare occurrences and endemism. As a result, this study aims to describ...
Reptiles are rarely included in urban freshwater biodiversity monitoring and conservation. We explored the global persistence of freshwater dependent turtles, lizards, crocodilians and snakes in cities with a population greater than 100,000 using spe...
Freshwater ecosystems—home to roughly 10% of known species—are losing biodiversity to river-morphology alteration, hydraulic infrastructure, and pollution, yet most ecological network (EN) studies focus on terrestrial systems and overlook...
Biodiversity conservation is closely linked to human willingness to conserve individual species. However, fish, as the least visible group of vertebrates, are often overlooked, despite the fact that they constitute almost 60% of all known vertebrate...
Freshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened environments on Earth, despite being indispensable for biodiversity conservation and human well-being [...]
This study provides the first updated checklist of Moroccan freshwater molluscs, synthesizing faunistic knowledge accumulated between 1795 and 2026. The dataset was primarily compiled from specialized literature, complemented by the authors’ ex...
Introduction: Freshwater habitats underpin global biodiversity and provide an array of essential ecosystem services to humans. However, threat hotspots like the Iberian Peninsula combine severe anthropogenic impacts (habitat degradation, climate chan...
Central America contains a rich diversity of freshwater habitats that support more than 600 species of freshwater fishes. However, despite several perceived threats to the integrity of the freshwater habitats throughout the region, a formal analysis...
Freshwater ecosystems are increasingly threatened by pollution, hydromorphological alteration, invasive species, and loss of ecological connectivity, complicating the monitoring and conservation of native fish communities. Environmental DNA (eDNA) ha...
Freshwater organisms are facing threats from various natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Using data sampled on a nationwide scale from streams in South Korea, we identified the crucial environmental factors influencing the distribution and abunda...
Freshwater turtles comprise 81% of all chelonian species despite freshwater systems only occupying 1% of the earth’s surface, and they are commonly exploited as pets and food resources. This contact between humans and turtles may put both sides...
Spatial hierarchical approaches to classify freshwater systems can add to our understanding of biogeographical patterns and can be used for biodiversity conservation planning. The Strawberry River is located primarily in the Ozark Highlands Central P...
Freshwater fish represent half of all fish species and are the most threatened vertebrate group. Given their considerable passion and knowledge, aquarium hobbyists can play a vital role in their conservation. CARES is made up of many organizations, w...
Although the effects of human disturbance on population genetic variation in plants have been widely studied, little attention has been paid to the impact of environmental changes on genetic dynamics after the implementation of conservation measures....
Key fish breeding and other biodiverse areas in Malawian lakes are under threat from illegal fishing, the siltation of key breeding areas (due to deforestation-induced soil erosion), and the clearing of shoreline aquatic vegetation. Freshwater protec...
The Guadalquivir River Basin is one of the largest in the Iberian Peninsula and has a remarkable freshwater biodiversity. Although many studies on hydrological regimes or water quality have been conducted in this basin the biodiversity of freshwater...
Conservation of endangered, cold-stenothermic species, such as the freshwater pearl mussel (FPM) and its salmonid host fish, are particularly challenging in headwater streams as their last refuge areas. Understanding the impact of anthropogenic catch...
Non-indigenous fish species (NIFS) can cause severe ecological impacts on the invaded ecosystems and are considered as one of the leading factors of freshwater biodiversity loss. Unraveling the spatial overlap between NIFS and critically endangered (...
Occupying a mere fraction of the Earth’s land surface, freshwater ecosystems are disproportionately rich in biodiversity and indispensable for human well-being and sustainable development. Nevertheless, these systems are undergoing accelerated...
Fresh waters are among the most imperiled ecosystems in the world. Not surprisingly, freshwater and diadromous fishes, which show remarkably high levels of endemism, are declining dramatically worldwide. In Portugal, more than 60% of the native fishe...
Biodiversity is facing an unprecedented crisis and substantial efforts are needed to conserve natural populations, especially in river ecosystems. The use of molecular tools to guide conservation practices in rivers has grown in popularity over the l...
The classification of freshwater ecosystems is essential for effective biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management, particularly with increasing threats. We developed an automated approach to mapping and classifying freshwater ecosystem functi...
Evaporitic ecosystems of the Atacama Desert contain a rich endemic fauna, including mollusk species. A recent study performed in the freshwater snail Heleobia atacamensis, endemic to the Atacama Saltpan, revealed a strong interdependence of genetic p...
The project “Recovery and Protection of Margaritifera margaritifera” (POSEUR-03-2215-FC-000096) was developed to protect and restore freshwater pearl mussel M. margaritifera and brown trout S. trutta populations in Portugal. To conduct th...
The Iberian Peninsula hosts one of the world’s most endemic fish faunas. Its extensive evolutionary, palaeogeographic, and geological history has produced a distinctive freshwater fish fauna. Many of these species have very limited distribution...
Hydropower development causes a multitude of negative effects on freshwater ecosystems, and to prevent and minimize possible damage, environmental impact assessments must be conducted and optimal management scenarios designed. This paper examines the...
Protected areas are frequently established as a management tool to conserve terrestrial and aquatic habitats and species. Monitoring and evaluation are a necessary part of adaptive management to determine whether such protected areas are effectively...
Introduction: Fish species represent 25% of all vertebrates across the globe and are one of the most threatened animal groups. At least 40% of the fish fauna occurs in rivers for part of their life cycle. European rivers are home to more than 600 fis...
The endangered freshwater fish Gobiobotia brevibarba is endemic to Korea and threatened by habitat disturbance in major river systems. We investigated four wild populations from the Han River basin (IJR, BHR, NHR) and the Geum River basin (GR) using...
The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera is considered to be the most rapidly declining species of freshwater bivalve, whereas its colonies in rivers of the White Sea Basin remain the most numerous in the world. The lipid profiles of m...
Freshwater ecosystems, which include rivers, lakes, wetlands, springs, streams, and ponds, harbor a rich diversity of life, making them some of the most biologically productive environments on Earth [...]
Climate change and associated shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns have become an increasing concern as drivers of ongoing biodiversity loss. The Mediterranean region is particularly vulnerable, being both a biodiversity hotspot and a reg...
Freshwater mussel populations are in sharp decline and are considered to be one of the most imperilled groups globally. Consequently, the number of captive breeding programmes has increased rapidly in recent years, coupled with subsequent reintroduct...
Freshwater mussels are important indicators of the overall health of their environment but have suffered declines that have been attributed to factors such as habitat degradation, a loss of fish hosts, climate change, and excessive nutrient inputs. T...
Three ageing reservoirs in Ekiti State, Nigeria (Ureje constructed in 1958, Egbe in 1982, and Ero in 1989), were comparatively assessed to evaluate fish assemblages and their conservation relevance. Despite the absence of formal fisheries governance,...
Freshwater ecosystems are increasingly threatened by climate change and anthropogenic activities, necessitating innovative and scalable monitoring solutions. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative tool in aquatic biodiversity re...
We used acoustic telemetry to assess site fidelity, movement patterns, and habitat use within the lower Maeklong River, Thailand, by 22 giant freshwater whipray Urogymnus polylepis. This study is the first of its kind for this rare, endangered specie...
Freshwater ecosystems are poorly represented in global networks of protected areas. This situation underscores an urgent need for the creation, application, and expansion of durable (long-term and enforceable) protection mechanisms for free-flowing r...
Freshwater fishes are one of the most threatened animal taxa in North America. In Canada, roughly 30% of the occurring species are currently listed and under protection, including redhorses. This review covers Moxostoma spp. ecology, biology, conserv...
Empirical evidence integrating multiple biological levels on freshwater biodiversity persistence in regulated river basins remains scarce for Neotropical systems. We evaluated fish assemblage structure, reproductive strategies, and life-cycle support...
Maintaining genetic diversity is essential for the long-term conservation of migratory freshwater fishes facing increasing anthropogenic pressures. Prochilodus magdalenae (bocachico), one of Colombia’s most economically and ecologically importa...
The Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia supports several species of threatened megafish and contains one of the largest networks of freshwater fish reserves in the world. Despite these traits, this system remains understudied in terms of its utility for endan...
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