Details on Water and Biodiversity

The links between the water sector1 and biodiversity include both the sector’s impacts on biodiversity as well as the benefits it can give. Biodiversity and environmental services provide benefits. As a result, the water sector has a vested interest in protecting biodiversity for both its own and others’ benefit.The Fourth Edition of the Global Biodiversity Report Outlook (GBO-4) received a mid-term assessment.An evaluation of the implementation of the globally agreed-upon Biodiversity Strategic Plan 2011-2020 and its 20 Aichi goals Objectives for Biodiversity.

Water Part of Biodiversity

Humans require access to fresh water in order to survive. Although water covers almost 70% of the earth’s surface, the majority of it is salt water, which people cannot drink. Freshwater accounts for only approximately 3% of the total. Approximately 69 percent of this is currently frozen as ice caps and glaciers, with the remaining 3% trapped underground in soil or rock. This means that only 1% of the world’s fresh water—or.03 percent of total water—is drinkable surface water. Because there is such a limited supply of potable (drinking) water, conservation is critical in order to prevent water shortages from spreading further in some areas.

If they spread, there may be disputes over who has the right to use the water. Humans can influence access to fresh water in a variety of ways. Humans, for example, can pollute bodies of water, rendering them unfit to consume. They may alter the land physically by constructing wetlands or damming rivers in some circumstances. While affluent countries can afford to make the required investments to ensure that their citizens have access to safe drinking water, poorer countries frequently cannot. Poorer countries are therefore more vulnerable to disastrous droughts, which can cause dehydration and malnutrition if the country is unable to water its crops.

Effect of Water Pollution on Biodiversity 

According to a new study co-authored by MARS scientist Professor Steve Ormerod, polluted rivers with low oxygen levels are more vulnerable to the adverse consequences of climate change.

Wilco Verberk led a team of researchers from Cardiff University and Radboud University in the Netherlands to prove that two common mayfly species are less able to survive rising water temperatures in polluted rivers with low oxygen levels. Organic pollutants like sewage and farm run-off require oxygen to break down, therefore dissolved oxygen levels in polluted streams are frequently low.

The study, which was published in the open-access journal Global Change Biology, adds to the expanding body of information on the role of numerous stressors in determining how freshwater ecosystems will respond to climate change. It shows that reducing water pollution could help boost freshwater biodiversity’s resilience to the effects of future climate change.

Professor Ormerod notes, “Cool water insects like numerous mayflies are in triple peril in warmer, polluted waters.” “First, water can contain less oxygen at higher temperatures. Second, as temperatures rise, insects require more oxygen to meet their needs. Third, oxygen is required for the breakdown of organic pollutants, which occurs more quickly in warmer seas.Warm dirty seas are the worst combination because of these three consequences.”

Effect of Water Pollution on Biodiversity 

Pollution is a severe problem in aquatic habitats because it can induce changes in the environmental conditions that aquatic creatures are sensitive to. When their environment undergoes severe changes, aquatic species migrate to another suitable habitat or, in the worst-case scenario, die. Only the reproductive capacity and metabolism of aquatic creatures are negatively affected in less extreme circumstances. However, in the long run, this may have a negative impact on their population.

Freshwater habitats require all species present at various trophic levels. By occupying the intermediate level of the food chain, zooplanktons and macrobenthic organisms control the aquatic productivity of aquatic ecosystems. Changes in the aquatic environment can also be detected by the aforementioned aquatic creatures.

Recent research has shown that some zooplankton and macrobenthic organism species can be utilised as indicators of declining water quality due to eutrophication and pollution.In a food web, the intricate relationships between species are crucial. As a result of food chain disturbance and variety loss or degradation, fish populations may begin to decline. When data from two distinct studies about the Egyptian Nile waters conducted several years apart were analysed side by side, the link between biodiversity loss and food chain disturbance was revealed. According to the first survey, the Egyptian Nile waters contain 85 different fish species.

However, according to the second research, done in 1997, there are a total of 71 fish species. Several pollution sources, including industrial operations, agricultural sources, and sewage drains, have been blamed for the considerable decline in fish species. These studies demonstrated that pollution can limit species diversity and have an impact on fish populations.

The Main Threats to Biodiversity

We lived in the “anthropocene,” an unofficial geologic time unit. Humans have evolved the ability to produce significant changes in our surroundings throughout this geologic period. Unfortunately, the majority of these significant changes hurt our ecosystem. Even more concerning is the fact that these changes are occurring at an alarming rate. Environmental changes and extinctions occurred naturally and slowly before the anthropocene period. During the anthropocene, however, species are becoming extinct at a higher rate than they should be. Global climate change, pollution, the introduction of exotic species, unsustainable resource use, and habitat destruction and loss are all major direct threats to biodiversity in the environment.The fundamental drivers of widespread biodiversity loss are the constant increase in our population and the resulting increase in resource demand. These are difficult to address since they are caused by a number of interconnected and complex elements.

Conclusion

Biodiversity is the sum of all species found in a given environment, as well as the vital roles they serve. A complicated link exists between each species in an ecosystem. To suggest that one is less significant than the others is to make a serious mistake. This is why all species, not only those on the verge of extinction, should be prioritised.To protect aquatic ecosystem biodiversity, we must first identify the behaviours that can threaten it. We need to discover measures to lessen the impact of these activities on the environment after we’ve recognised them. Aside from that, we need to encourage the long-term use of resources derived from aquatic ecosystems.We must remember that various elements such as demographics, economics, socio-political, cultural, religious, scientific, and technical aspects all contribute to biodiversity loss. These issues must also be addressed in order for the majority of the population to support the idea of increasing aquatic biodiversity.