Reacción a "A quarter of freshwater wildlife is threatened with extinction"

This rigorous study provides a true and objective picture of the dismal state of freshwater biodiversity worldwide. The picture could be even more alarming when considering other animal groups not included in the study, such as molluscs, which are also at very high risk of extinction. The accelerated decline of biodiversity in rivers, lakes and wetlands has been observed for decades, but little action has been taken to reverse it.

The results of the study are an urgent call to action for inland water management agencies, as the main threats to biodiversity are pollution, river fragmentation by dams and weirs, and water abstraction for different uses. As the article reflects, it is true that there is still a great deal of ignorance about the distribution and conservation status of freshwater organisms, but this should not be an excuse for inaction. Science is making great progress in this area, but more financial and human resources are needed to reach the same level of knowledge as other animal groups more widely recognised by society, such as birds and mammals. It is urgent that society recognises the value of freshwater organisms; only then can the conservation of this unique natural heritage be achieved.

In the study, the Iberian Peninsula appears as one of the areas with the greatest wealth of threatened aquatic species worldwide, undoubtedly due to the high number of endemic fish with restricted distributions that inhabit its river basins, of which approximately 85% are threatened with extinction. In addition to the above combination of threats, freshwater fish also face overfishing, the spread of invasive species and the impacts of climate change.