Drivers of biodiversity loss in freshwater environments: A bibliometric analysis of the recent literature

• Published in: Aquatic conservation Vol. 31; no. 9; pp. 2469 - 2480
• Main Authors: Williams‐Subiza, Emilio A., Epele, Luis B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2021
• Subjects: Abstracts; Anthropocene; bibliometric analysis; Bibliometrics; Biodiversity; biodiversity crisis; Biodiversity loss; Climate change; Developing countries; emerging threats; Environmental degradation; Flow alteration; Fresh water; Freshwater; Freshwater ecosystems; Freshwater environments; habitat destruction; Hydroelectric power; Inland water environment; Invasive species; lakes; LDCs; Light pollution; Light sources; Marine ecosystems; Mass extinctions; Plastic pollution; streams and rivers; Water pollution; water power; wetlands
• DOI: 10.1002/aqc.3627
• ISSN: 1052-7613

Species are disappearing at a rate comparable with previous mass extinctions. Freshwater environments are being particularly affected, with biodiversity losses occurring much faster in freshwater than in terrestrial or marine ecosystems. This study assessed the research on drivers of biodiversity loss in freshwater environments as described in nearly 37,000 articles published in the last decade. Articles on biodiversity published between 2010 and 2019 were retrieved from the Web of Science to determine the number of articles that addressed a particular driver of biodiversity loss, by analysing the titles, s, and keywords. The biodiversity and development status of a country was also investigated to see how it affects its scientific output (i.e. number of published articles). Twenty per cent of the articles on biodiversity addressed freshwater biodiversity. Researchers devoted considerable effort to six drivers – climate change, water pollution, flow modification, expanding hydropower, species invasions, and habitat degradation – but practically ignored other threats, such as plastic and light pollution. It was also found that megadiverse countries, which for the most part were also developing countries, published substantially fewer articles than developed but less biodiverse countries. We recommend a series of actions that could contribute to mitigate the biases found in this study.