Contemporary Threats to Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

The Anthropocene has brought with it multiple new and serious threats that impact both freshwater and marine ecosystems. Among contemporary threats to aquatic ecosystems, climate change, habitat loss and barriers to migration routes, pollution, including eutrophication, freshwater salinisation, microplastic and pharmaceutical contamination or cumulative stressors, are most important. The pollution of aquatic ecosystems is a global problem, occurring in areas remote from the direct sources of anthropogenic processes. Plastic waste is damaging aquatic ecosystems around the world, while microplastics (a mixture of persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, and adsorbed or absorbed pollutants from the aquatic environment) are entering the food chain and have been recorded even in the Mariana Trench, as well as the ice of the Arctic and Antarctic. The exploitation and processing of hard coal affect aquatic ecosystems (freshwater eutrophication, secondary freshwater salinisation, freshwater and marine ecotoxicity, and acidification) and contribute to global warming. It has been demonstrated that nutrient-rich groundwater is a bigger source of pollution in coral reef ecosystems than was previously thought, e.g., in the Great Barrier Reef. More than 75% of the world’s coral reefs will bleach every year by 2070 if global warming continues on its current path. Anthropogenic stressors can promote species invasions and favour invasive alien species (IAS) over native species, exacerbating their impacts on food webs. According to the Living Planet Report (2022), the evidence for the dual crises of biodiversity loss and global warming, triggered by the unsustainable use of our planet’s resources, is unequivocal. Freshwater populations have declined by an average of 83% since 1970; more than any other organisms. Anthropogenic stressors, including habitat loss and barriers to migration routes, account for around half the threats to these populations. Undoubtedly, decisive measures should be taken to limit the anthropogenic stressors within aquatic ecosystems, especially in the context of climate and environmental emergencies. For example, the European Union 2030 Biodiversity Strategy calls for greater efforts to restore freshwater ecosystems and the natural functions of rivers (making at least 25,000 km of rivers free-flowing again by 2030, by removing artificial barriers and restoring floodplains and wetlands).

To face with the contemporary threats to biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems, this Special Issue will serve as the platform for exchanging views and experiences by publishing research in the field of aquatic ecosystems. We welcome all fundamental and applied studies on the impact of anthropogenic factors on both freshwater and marine ecosystems, and scientific solutions to bend the curve of aquatic biodiversity loss. This knowledge can help decision-makers and stakeholders with the sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems, especially in the context of climate change.

Prof. Dr. Iga Lewin
Prof. Dr. Andrzej Zawal
Guest Editors

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• anthropogenic factors
• aquatic ecosystems
• biodiversity
• water pollution
• habitat loss
• climate changes