The journal Nature has released a research examining the trend of invertebrate diversity and organisation in rivers and how these organisms respond and evolve to environmental stressors. The study is based on data collected from river systems in 22 European countries between 1969 and 2020.
The University of the Basque Country’s (UPV/EHU) Group of Stream Ecology participated in the study, concluding that while biodiversity rose in the 1990s and 2000s, it followed a negative trend in the 2010s. According to researchers, increased efforts are needed to revitalise the mechanisms that rebuild freshwater biodiversity. Thanks to sampling efforts throughout the years by the UPV/EHU, the Basque Water Authority Ura, and the Charter Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Basque Autonomous Community has accessibility to complete data.
The study’s conclusion, according to Aitor Larrañaga-Arrizabalaga, a lecturer in the UPV/EHU Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, entails the fact that the improvement of rivers and streams up until the 2000s and the rise in both species and populations demonstrate an effective implementation of the measures to improve water quality. However, the fact that this improving trend slowed down in the 2010s suggests that the efficacy of the present policies decreased.
The necessity of keeping an eye on river environments.
The researcher made the argument that complacent behaviours need to be ignored. It is evident that heavily polluted regions have somewhat improved. On the water quality map of Europe, there are still dark holes. Not all the necessary steps have been taken to address the pollution. Researchers emphasise that ongoing and novel stresses, such as invasive species, climate change, and new pollutants, are harming freshwater ecosystems and that ongoing efforts to restore these ecosystems’ biodiversity must be doubled. «Although many studies have been conducted on this topic recently, it is important to approach the analysis of the effects of each of these new contaminants with caution. At the same time, we are urging caution and additional investigation,» Dr. Larrañaga stated.
The work done in the Basque Autonomous Community to monitor the rivers is very important to Larrañaga. The Basque Autonomous Community has conducted an enormous quantity of sampling work, which has resulted in the collection of a vast amount of highly interesting data that is unmatched in many regions if not the entire globe. As a result, we can make decisions about how to manage our waterways with reliable information about what is happening.
More details: Aitor Larrañaga-Arrizabalaga teaches the biology bachelor’s degree and the biodiversity, functioning, and management of ecosystems master’s course at the UPV/EHU. He works as a lecturer in the Department of Plant Biology and Ecology.