Mapping threats to the world's freshwater biodiversity

Earth has entered an era of unparalleled human activities, resulting in dramatic biodiversity loss worldwide. Nowhere is this more true than in freshwater ecosystems, which are both the richest habitats on Earth as well as the most threatened globally. Although the major anthropogenic pressures in freshwater ecosystems have been studied, effective conservation action remains limited due to the lack of spatial data on threats to freshwater species. Here, we use comprehensive data from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to map the impact of 45 threats to all assessed freshwater amphibians, reptiles, fish, mammals, dragonflies. Using a novel threat mapping method, we create maps that illustrate the impact of threats to species, globally. Our results highlight the most acute overlap of threats occurring in Europe and the Permanent Maghreb, with pollution and agriculture as the major threats to freshwater biodiversity. We find three threats that impact on average close to one-fourth of freshwater species anywhere on Earth. Additionally, we find an association between threat intensity and extinction risk, particularly for the impact of pollutants. Finally, we provide evidence that freshwater species are nearly universally more impacted than terrestrial ones, for any threat anywhere on Earth. Our assessment reports global evidence of the far-reaching and dramatic impacts of anthropogenic activities. We hope the resulting threat maps can provide the baseline knowledge needed for future mitigation actions and conservation initiative in freshwater systems.

Presentation Preference: Standard Oral (12 Minutes)

Primary Presenter: Christophe Brabant, McGill University (christophe.brabant@mail.mcgill.ca)

Authors:

Christophe Brabant, McGill University; Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie (GRIL)  (christophe.brabant@mail.mcgill.ca)

Laura Pollock, McGill University  (laura.pollock@mcgill.ca)

Lars Iversen, McGill University; Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie (GRIL)  (lars.iversen@mcgill.ca)