Research: Quarter of world's freshwater fauna on brink of extinction

Twenty-four percent of the world’s freshwater fauna faces a significant risk of extinction, Anadolu Agency reported, citing a recent study published in the scientific journal Nature.

With 4,294 of 23,496 freshwater species endangered, the study, released on Wednesday, found that biodiversity hotspots including Lake Victoria, and Lake Titicaca have the highest concentrations of endangered species.

As a result of over 20 years of work by more than 1,000 experts, the research found crabs, crayfish and shrimps are the most threatened groups, with 30 percent at risk, followed by 26 percent of freshwater fish and 16 percent of dragonflies and damselflies, International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) reported in a press release.

One of the major threats driving freshwater species towards extinction is pollution, mainly from agriculture and forestry, which affects more than half of the endangered freshwater fauna, the study found.

Dams and water extraction blocking fish migration routes, land conversion for agriculture, invasive species and overfishing are also driving the extinction.

“These landmark findings are a rallying cry around freshwater species and the declining habitats that support them,” said Tim Lyons, director of conservation at New Mexico BioPark Society.

Global biodiversity is declining, with freshwater ecosystems affected the most as 35 percent of wetland area was lost between 1970 and 2015 and 65 percent of remaining wetlands are severely threatened.

- Bernama

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