Management Of Freshwater Biodiversity

A Practitioner's Guide to Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation brings together knowledge and experience from conservation practitioners and experts around the world to help readers understand the global challenge of conserving biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems. More importantly, it offers specific strategies and suggestions for managers to use in establishing new conservation initiatives or improving the effectiveness of existing initiatives. The book: offers an understanding of fundamental issues by explaining how ecosystems are structured and how they support biodiversity; provides specific information and approaches for identifying areas most in need of protection; examines promising strategies that can help reduce biodiversity loss; and describes design considerations and methods for measuring success within an adaptive management framework. The book draws on experience and knowledge gained during a five-year project of The Nature Conservancy known as the Freshwater Initiative, which brought together a range of practitioners to create a learning laboratory for testing ideas, approaches, tools, strategies, and methods. For professionals involved with land or water management-including state and federal agency staff, scientists and researchers working with conservation organizations, students and faculty involved with freshwater issues or biodiversity conservation, and policymakers concerned with environmental issues-the book represents an important new source of information, ideas, and approaches.

Integrating research into freshwater biodiversity and the role of keystone species, this fascinating book presents freshwater crayfish as representatives of human-exacerbated threats to biodiversity and conservation. It uses examples from these and other large decapod invertebrates to explore how communities function and are controlled, alongside the implications of human demands and conflicts over limited resources, notably the severe impacts on biodiversity. The discussion is structured around three key topics – the present situation of crayfish in world freshwater ecosystems, the applications of science to conservation management and knowledge transfer for successful crayfish management. It outlines the historic exploitation of crayfish, addressing the problems caused by invasive alien forms and explaining the importance of correct identification when dealing with conservation issues. Offering a global perspective on freshwater systems, the book ultimately highlights how the conservation of such large and long-lived species will help protect ecosystem quality in the future.

Rather than a marginal part of protected area management, this book shows that freshwater conservation is central to sustaining biodiversity. It focuses on better practices for conserving inland aquatic ecosystems in protected areas (PAs), including rivers, wetlands, swamps, other brackish and freshwater ecosystems, and coastal estuaries.

Fresh waters are disproportionately rich in species, and represent global hotspots of biodiversity. However, they are also hotspots of endangerment.

Integrating research into freshwater biodiversity and the role of keystone species, this fascinating book presents freshwater crayfish as representatives of human-exacerbated threats to biodiversity and conservation. It uses examples from these and other large decapod invertebrates to explore how communities function and are controlled, alongside the implications of human demands and conflicts over limited resources, notably the severe impacts on biodiversity. The discussion is structured around three key topics - the present situation of crayfish in world freshwater ecosystems, the applications of science to conservation management and knowledge transfer for successful crayfish management. It outlines the historic exploitation of crayfish, addressing the problems caused by invasive alien forms and explaining the importance of correct identification when dealing with conservation issues. Offering a global perspective on freshwater systems, the book ultimately highlights how the conservation of such large and long-lived species will help protect ecosystem quality in the future.

Freshwater ecosystems have the greatest species diversity per unit area and many endangered species. This book shows that, rather than being a marginal part of terrestrial protected area management, freshwater conservation is central to sustaining biodiversity. It focuses on better practices for conserving inland aquatic ecosystems in protected areas, including rivers, wetlands, peatlands, other freshwater and brackish ecosystems, and estuaries. The authors define inland aquatic ecosystems, showing just how diverse and widespread they are. They examine the principles and processes that are essential for the conservation of freshwater ecosystems and aquatic species. Major categories of threats to freshwater ecosystems and the flow-on implications for protected area design are described. Practical case studies are used to illustrate principles and practices applied around the world. Specific management needs of the main types of freshwater ecosystems are considered, as well as the management of freshwaters in the broader landscape, showing how natural resource governance processes can be harnessed to better manage freshwater biodiversity. The book offers commentary on how to adapt freshwater conservation practices to climate change and ends with an insightful synthesis.

This new volume examines the ecological importance, threats, protection, and management of the biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems, such as lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, reservoirs, pools, and wetlands. As populations have been increasing exponentially, humans are using freshwater ecosystems severely, resulting in habitat destruction and breakdown. Environmental contamination, climate change, the introduction of harmful and invasive organisms, unplanned dredging and de-weeding processes, disposal of sewer systems in freshwater bodies, and badly planned water diversions are the leading causes of habitat loss in freshwaters. These impacts have led to significant decreases in the numbers and productivity of many freshwater species and decreased biodiversity in freshwater. This book presents a selection of primary research and review papers on several freshwater aquatic biodiversity studies, which involve evaluating plants, macroinvertebrates, macrophytes, benthic zones, and fish diversity in freshwater ecosystems. It provides an abundance of new information on freshwater biodiversity distribution, status, and patterns. Key features: Discusses the importance, threats, and management of biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems Provides detailed coverage of modern and updated techniques used in the evaluation and conservation of freshwater biodiversity Looks at the impact of pesticides pollution on freshwater environs, and on aquatic and terrestrial life Reviews how global climate change affects freshwater biodiversity Biodiversity of Freshwater Ecosystems: Threats, Protection, and Management promotes the enhancement and strengthening of freshwater protection and its unique biodiversity for scientists, policymakers, scholars, researchers, NGOs, and the public, providing necessary background knowledge and practical tools to help manage aquatic ecosystems and their biodiversity in a holistic manner.

"Integrating research into freshwater biodiversity and the role of keystone species, this fascinating book presents freshwater crayfish as representatives of human-exacerbated threats to biodiversity and conservation. It uses examples from these and other large decapod invertebrates to explore how communities function and are controlled, alongside the implications of human demands and conflicts over limited resources, notably the severe impacts on biodiversity. The discussion is structured around three key topics - the present situation of crayfish in world freshwater ecosystems, the applications of science to conservation management and knowledge transfer for successful crayfish management. It outlines the historic exploitation of crayfish, addressing the problems caused by invasive alien forms and explaining the importance of correct identification when dealing with conservation issues. Offering a global perspective on freshwater systems, the book ultimately highlights how the conservation of such large and long-lived species will help protect ecosystem quality in the future"--