Freshwater biodiversity conservation: recent progress and future challenges

Freshwater habitats occupy <1% of the Earth’s surface, yet are hotspots that support ∼10% of all known species, and ∼⅓ of vertebrate species. Fresh waters also are hotspots for human activities that have led to widespread habitat degradation, pollution, flow regulation and water extraction, fisheries overexploitation, and alien species introductions. These impacts have caused severe declines in the range and abundance of many freshwater species,...