RIVERINE BIODIVERSITY AND IMPORTANCE, POTENTIAL THREAT AND CONSERVATIONAL CHALLENGES: A REVIEW
Abstract
Seven percent of the world's biodiversity is found in freshwater ecosystems, which are the richest and most promising resource for human life and functioning (Dudgeon et al., 2006; Reid et al., 2019). It comprises extremely endangered wetlands, rivers, lakes, riparian zones, ponds, and streams. because of a number of stressors, including species invasion, land-use changes, point sources, diffused pollution, water extraction, eutrophication, growing hydropower, increased resource use, and climate change (Cantonati et al., 2020; Flitcroft et al., 2019). The WWF's 2016 Living Planet Index report states that the freshwater organism has experienced a sharp drop in population and eventual extinction. According to the Living Planet Index (2016), the number of freshwater vertebrate species decreased by 81% in 2014 before increasing to 83% in 2018 (Grooten and Almond, 2018). Furthermore, data from the IUCN Red List confirm that freshwater vertebrate and invertebrate species are at serious risk of extinction (Ricciardi and Rasmussen, 1999; Collen et al., 2014). Approximately 84% of the threatened megafauna that is located outside of the current protected area is found in the freshwater ecosystem (Carrizo et al., 2017). Despite being a serious concern, the decline in freshwater organisms is not given enough attention. This could be because freshwater biodiversity, especially microorganisms and protists, has received less attention than its terrestrial equivalent (Darwall et al., 2011; Cantonati et al., 2020).
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