Saving the World’s Most Threatened Species by Restoring Freshwater Ecosystems at Scale
Freshwaters are Important:
Freshwaters make up less than 1% of Earth, but are home to 10% of earth’s species and a third of all vertebrate species.
Freshwaters have about the same number of fish species as the world’s oceans, which are more than 70 times larger.
Photo by Hunter Brumels on Unsplash
Freshwaters provide 20% of all wild caught food fish and are particularly important for the world’s poorest people.
Freshwaters Are Threatened
Freshwaters make up less than 1% of the earth, but are home to 28% of Extinct species, like those pictured here, and 29% of Critically Endangered species.
Freshwaters
Invasive species like these carp are responsible, at least in part, for 41% of all freshwater extinctions.
But, they can be eradicated, after which, even species on the edge of extinction can make spectacular recoveries.
Photo: Pixabay
The Endangered White-headed duck recovered in Laguna de Zóñar, Spain after invasive carp were eradicated. Numbers of 5 other water birds, including flamingos, also increased.
Laguna de Zoñar
Invasive Eradications Can Also Benefit Water Quality For People And Wildlife
NO CARP
CARP
There are thousands of opportunities, like Laguna de Zóñar, to save threatened species from extinction and benefit people by eradicating invasive species.
ZEMPOALA AXOLOTL
Photo: Juan Antonio Reynoso Moran
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
AMAMI OSHIMA FROG
Photo: Shawn Miller
CUTTHROAT TROUT
Photo: William Hughes
OWENS PUPFISH
Photo: CA Dept. Fish and Wildlife
MADAGASCAR GREBE
