Freshwater Fish Distribution, Conservation and Climate Change

Global biodiversity is declining at an accelerating rate due to anthropogenic activities. All ecosystems and their organisms are at risk of local or global extinction, with climate and land use changes becoming major drivers of habitat loss and species redistribution. Freshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened worldwide. Although freshwater covers less than 1% of Earth's surface, it hosts nearly 9.5% of all described animal species including approximately 70 mammal species, 5,700 dragonflies, and 18,495 fish species. Therefore, conservation planning that prioritizes freshwater ecosystems is of utmost importance. Such planning must be grounded in scientific evidence and a comprehensive understanding of biodiversity distribution patterns and sensitivity to climate and land use changes.

Freshwater fish are considered one of the most vulnerable vertebrate groups to human activities and environmental changes. They face numerous threats, including climate and land use changes, damming, agricultural expansion, illegal fishing, and invasive species. These pressures are causing large-scale declines in freshwater fish biodiversity and driving many species including endemics and those with restricted ranges toward local or global extinction.

This Research Topic aims to bring together original contributions from researchers across the globe, focusing on one or more of the following topics:

• Mapping freshwater fish richness across multiple spatial scales

• Identifying drivers of freshwater fish distribution patterns

• Predicting the impacts of climate change on freshwater fish distribution

• Identifying climate refugia for freshwater fish

• Documenting the impacts of anthropogenic activities such as land use change, damming, agriculture, illegal fishing, and invasive species on freshwater fish

• Assessing the effectiveness of existing protected areas in conserving freshwater fish

• Presenting large datasets to advance freshwater fish research and conservation planning

Authors are invited to contribute research, review, and data papers that foster interdisciplinary collaboration and promote solutions for freshwater fish conservation planning in a changing environment.