Conservation Biology for the Biodiversity Crisis: a Freshwater Follow-up

In their essay “Conservation Biology for the Biodiversity Crisis,” Olson et al. (2002) identify critical research gaps hampering effective conservation planning, with an emphasis on the terrestrial realm. The situation for freshwater biodiversity is so grave that an additional plea for freshwater research is warranted. Freshwater fish alone comprise one-fourth of all living vertebrate species, and recent assessments suggest that over 30% of them are threatened (World Conservation Union 2000). The situation is even more dire for other freshwater faunal groups. On average around the world, freshwater habitats and their species are more imperiled than their terrestrial counterparts (McAllister et al. 1997; Ricciardi & Rasmussen 1999). If the conservation community acknowledges the freshwater biodiversity crisis, current research fails to reflect it. A quick tally of papers published in Conservation Biology from 1997 through August 2001 shows that only 7% have some relation to freshwater species and habitats, including wetlands. Excluding papers focused on use of riparian habitats by terrestrial species, the number drops to 4%. The remaining papers are heavily skewed toward the topics of amphibian declines and exotics, and particularly the effects of exotics on amphibians. Questions involving the design and success of large-scale conservation strategies are rarely addressed. Some specialized journals, such as River Research and Applications and Freshwater Biology , feature articles on freshwater biodiversity and conservation more often, but the paucity of freshwater research in Conservation Biology suggests that the mainstream conservation community has not given this critical issue the attention it requires. Many of the key questions that hamper freshwater conservation planning involve both scientific inquiry and landscape planning and will require considerable effort to answer. Fortunately, even incremental advances can contribute meaningfully to conservation planning and action on the ground. Here I outline several of the more pressing research questions.