Conserving Freshwater Biodiversity in an African Subtropical Wetland: South Africa’s Lower Phongolo River and Floodplain

More than for any other biome, freshwater biodiversity is increasingly imperiled, particularly due to poor stream flow management and increasing demand for water diversions. The adoption by the world's governments of targets to extend water services to the poor and at the same time to conserve biodiversity increase the need to better direct investments in freshwater management. In this paper WWF draws on examples from its work to identify areas where investment can be focused to assure efficient water use and improve stream flow management, namely:• Prioritize and target those river basins and sub-catchments that are most critical for conservation of freshwater biodiversity to maintain stream flows;• Link strategic field, policy and market interventions at different scales in river basins to maximize the impact of interventions;• Implement the World Commission on Dams guidelines to minimize investment in large scale and costly infrastructure projects;• Apply market mechanisms and incentives for more sustainable production of the world's most water consuming crops;• Enhance statutory river basin management organizations to draw on their regulatory and financial powers;• Implement international agreements, such as the Convention on Wetlands;• Integrate environment and development policies.

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Designing a conservation area network that supports the representation and persistence of freshwater biodiversity

Freshwater Biology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-2427.2010.02437.x ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 106-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

JEANNE L. NEL ◽

BELINDA REYERS ◽

DIRK J. ROUX ◽

N. DEAN IMPSON ◽

RICHARD M. COWLING

Keyword(s):

Area Network ◽

Freshwater Biodiversity ◽

Conservation Area

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Freshwater biodiversity at regional extent: determinants of macroinvertebrate taxonomic richness in headwater streams

Ecography ◽

10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06427.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 34 (5) ◽

pp. 705-713 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Anna Astorga ◽

Jani Heino ◽

Miska Luoto ◽

Timo Muotka

Keyword(s):

Headwater Streams ◽

Taxonomic Richness ◽

Freshwater Biodiversity

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Freshwater biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes: introduction

Limnology ◽

10.1007/s10201-014-0439-y ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 199-200

Author(s):

Nisikawa Usio ◽

Junjiro N. Negishi

Keyword(s):

Freshwater Biodiversity

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Free-living freshwater nematodes from Brazil: checklist of genera and regional patterns of diversity

Nematology ◽

10.1163/15685411-bja10100 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-14

Author(s):

Taciana Kramer de Oliveira Pinto ◽

Sérgio A. Netto ◽

André Morgado Esteves ◽

Francisco José Victor de Castro ◽

Patricia Fernandes Neres ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Benthic Communities ◽

Extreme Environments ◽

Freshwater Ecosystems ◽

Freshwater Biodiversity ◽

High Turnover ◽

Free Living ◽

Regional Patterns ◽

Freshwater Nematodes ◽

Spatial Coverage ◽

Freshwater Habitats

Summary Brazil has one of the largest varieties of aquatic ecosystems and rich freshwater biodiversity, but these components have constantly been damaged by the expansion of unsustainable activities. Free-living nematodes are an abundant and ubiquitous component of continental benthic communities, occurring in all freshwater habitats, including extreme environments. Despite this, hardly any studies have examined the generic composition of nematodes in different latitudes and the geographic overlap of assemblages. We provide data on nematode genera from six regions in Brazil, over a north-south gradient spanning about 4000 km, encompassing rivers, coastal lakes, and reservoirs with different levels of human impact. Interpolation/extrapolation curves were generated and the zeta diversity was used to assess the overlap of nematode assemblages. Freshwater nematode assemblages comprised 54 families and 132 genera. Mononchidae, Monhysteridae, Chromadoridae, Tobrilidae and Dorylaimidae were the most diverse families. Differences in diversity and high turnover of genera were found among regions, probably related to stochastic processes. Mononchus was the only widely distributed genus. Our results revealed a high biodiversity of free-living freshwater nematodes among the regions. The limited spatial coverage of the data reveals an enormous knowledge gap in a country with 12% of the world’s freshwater resources. The lack of spatial patterns, e.g., latitudinal variation, suggests that freshwater nematode assemblages are primarily structured by the intrinsic properties of habitats. This reinforces the uniqueness of freshwater ecosystems and suggests that the nematode assemblages may be sensitive to environmental disturbances, since the limited distributions of taxa may lead to lower resilience.

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Population genetic structure of Asian snakehead fish ( Channa striata ) in North Borneo: Implications for conservation of local freshwater biodiversity

Ecological Research ◽

10.1111/1440-1703.1008 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 55-67

Author(s):

Rolando Robert ◽

Noor H. Amit ◽

Nor M. Sukarno ◽

Richard J. Majapun ◽

Subbiah V. Kumar

Keyword(s):

Genetic Structure ◽

Population Genetic Structure ◽

Population Genetic ◽

Freshwater Biodiversity ◽

North Borneo ◽

Channa Striata

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Fishing with Pesticides Affects River Fisheries and Community Health in the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, Nicaragua

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su122310152 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (23) ◽

pp. 10152

Author(s):

Joel T. Betts ◽

Juan F. Mendoza Espinoza ◽

Armando J. Dans ◽

Christopher A. Jordan ◽

Joshua L. Mayer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Health ◽

Study Participant ◽

Surrounding Area ◽

Freshwater Biodiversity ◽

Remote Communities ◽

Aluminum Phosphide ◽

Pesticides In Water ◽

Biological Reserve ◽

Destructive Fishing

The practice of harvesting fish and crustaceans by using pesticides is understudied and under-reported in tropical inland fisheries yet poses a significant threat to freshwater biodiversity and community health. This research provides a brief review of the practice and an in-depth case study from southeast Nicaragua. In 2019, 86 interviews and 5 focus groups were conducted in remote communities in the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve (IMBR) and nearby surrounding area and combined with 4 years of local Indigenous Rama and Afrodescendent Kriol community forest ranger data. Forest rangers and 74% of interviewees reported that fishing with pesticides occurs in their communities, including both inside the IMBR and in the nearby surrounding area. The practice is primarily used by illegal settlers, and not by Rama and Kriol communities who have rights to the land in the IMBR. It entails the release of liquid pesticides in water or mixing powdered pesticides with corn flour and using the mixture as bait. Of seven chemicals reported, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, and Aluminum Phosphide were most common. The use of ichthyotoxic woody plants was more rarely reported. Habitats targeted ranged from swift headwaters to slow pools in small creeks to larger rivers, depending on target species. Main uses reported for the catch were food for family, bait to catch larger fish, and for sale. The main motivation was increased catch efficiency. Many interviewees attributed stomach issues, diarrhea, cough, convulsions, and miscarriage to exposure to poisoned river water. Twenty-five interviewees blamed poisoned rivers for livestock miscarriages or death. Severe local losses of fish and shrimp populations were reported. Rama and Kriol interviewees describe the practice as a threat to their river-based food security. Despite its illegality, no study participant knew a case of pesticide fishing that had been prosecuted. This destructive fishing practice has significant implications for conservation of the intact river systems of the primary rainforests of southeast Nicaragua, and to the local traditional fisheries they support.

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