Spatial priorities for freshwater biodiversity conservation in light of catchment protection and connectivity in Europe

Freshwater ecosystems host high numbers of species relative to their surface area yet are poorly protected globally. We used data on the distribution of 1631 species of aquatic plant, mollusc, odonate and fish in 18,816 river and lake catchments in Europe to establish spatial conservation priorities based on the occurrence of threatened, range-restricted and endemic species using the Marxan conservation planning tool. We found that priorities were highest for rivers and ancient lakes in S Europe, large rivers and lakes in E and N Europe, smaller lakes in NW Europe and karst/limestone areas in the Balkans, S France and central Europe. The a priori inclusion of well-protected catchments resulted in geographically more balanced priorities and better coverage of threatened species. The a priori exclusion of well-protected catchments showed that priority areas that need further conservation interventions are in S and E Europe. We developed ways to evaluate the link between conservation priority and current protection. Each method found that priority relative to protection was high in S and E Europe and generally low in NW Europe. Our results suggest that catchments in S and E Europe need urgent conservation attention in the face of imminent threats such as river regulation, hydropower development and climate change. Our study presents conservation priorities for freshwaters in ecologically meaningful units, thus important in freshwater biodiversity policy and practice, and water management in Europe.

SZABOLCS Marton;  KAPUSI Felicia;  CARRIZO Savrina F.;  MARKOVIC Danijela;  FREYHOF J.;  CID Nuria;  DE JESUS CARDOSO Ana;  SCHOLZ Mathias;  KASPERIDUS Hans;  DARWALL William;  LENGYEL Szabolcs; 

2022-06-07

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

JRC129583

1932-6203 (online),   

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0267801,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC129583,   

10.1371/journal.pone.0267801 (online),