Freshwater biodiversity loss has been out of sight, out of mind

A silent mass extinction is occurring in lakes, rivers and wetlands. Freshwater species are rapidly disappearing in North America and throughout the world. Conservation-minded people might be unaware of this, because of the media’s longstanding focus on land-based ecosystems and charismatic animals.

The United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15), to be held in Montreal in December, is an opportunity to reassess priorities. The goal of the summit is to advance the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that aims to bring about “a transformation in society’s relationship with biodiversity.” Such a transformation would require citizens to have a clear understanding of what is at risk in freshwater ecosystems, which are both disproportionately rich in species and disproportionately threatened.

Read Redpath Museum and Bieler School of Environment Professor Anthony Ricciardi's full piece in the Reporter: https://reporter.mcgill.ca/freshwater-biodiversity-loss-has-been-out-of-...