Abstract
Fishes are appropriate indicators of trends in aquatic biodiversity because their enormous variety reflects a wide range of environmental conditions. Fish also have a major impact on the distribution and abundance of other organisms in waters they inhabit. Examination of trends in freshwater fish faunas from different parts of the world indicate that most faunas are in serious decline and in need of immediate protection. Species most likely to be threatened with immediate extinction are either specialized for life in large rivers or are endemic species with very small distributions. We conservatively estimate that 20 percent of the freshwater fish species of the world (ca. 1800 species) are already extinct or in serious decline. Evidence for serious declines in marine fishes is limited largely to estuarine fishes, reflecting their dependence on freshwater inflows, or to fishes in inland seas. The proximate causes of fish species’ decline can be divided into five broad categories: (1) competition for water, (2) habitat alteration, (3) pollution, (4) introduction of exotic species, and (5) commercial exploitation. Although one or two principal causes of decline can be identified for each species, the decline is typically the result of multiple, cumulative, long-term effects. Ways to protect aquatic biodiversity include the implementation of landscape-level management strategies, the creation of aquatic preserves, and the restoration of degraded aquatic habitats. Without rapid adoption of such measures we are likely to experience an accelerated rate of extinctions in aquatic environments as human populations continue to expand.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Aleem, A.A. 1972. Effects of river outflow management on marine life. Marine Biol. 15: 200–8.
Allen, G.R. 1987. Freshwater fishes of Australia-an annotated checklist. In Proceedings of the conference on Australian threatened fishes, ed. J.H. Harris, 35–43. Sydney: Division of Fisheries.
Arthington, A.H., Milton, D.A., McKay, R.J. 1983. Effects of urban development and habitat alterations on the distribution and abundance of native and exotic freshwater fish in the Brisbane region, Queensland. Austr. J. Ecol. 8: 87–101.
Balon E., Coche, A.G. 1974. Lake Kariba: A man-made tropical ecosystem in central Africa. The Hague: Junk.
Brown, L.B., Moyle, P.B. 1991. Native fishes of the San Joaquin Drainage: Status of a remnant fauna. In Endangered and sensitive species of the San Joaquin Valley, California, ed. D.L. Williams, T.A. Rado, and S. Byrne. Sacramento, Calif.: California Energy Commission.
Bussing, W.A. 1987. Peces de las aquas continentales de Costa Rica. San Jose: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.
California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout. 1988. Restoring the balance: 1988 annual report. Sausalito, Calif.: California Advisory Committee on Salmon and Steelhead Trout.
Carlton, J.T. 1985. Transoceanic and interoceanic dispersal of coastal marine organisms: The biology of ballast water. Ocean. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 23: 313–71.
Carlton, J.T. 1989. Man’s role in changing the face of the ocean: Biological invasions and implications for conservation of near-shore environments. Cons. Biol. 3: 265–73.
Carpenter, S.R., Kitchell, J.F. 1988. Consumer control of lake productivity. Bioscience 38: 764–69.
Clark, E.H., Haversamp, J.A., Chapman, W. 1985. Eroding soils: The off- farm impacts. Washington, D.C.: The Conservation Foundation.
Coad, B.W. 1981. Environmental change and its impact on the freshwater fishes of Iran. Biol. Cons. 19: 51–80.
Cohen, D.M. 1970. How many recent fishes are there? Proc. Calif Acad. Sci. 37: 341–46.
Courtenay, W.R., Stauffer, J.R. eds. 1984. Distribution, biology, and management of exotic fishes. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
Cross, F.B., Moss, R.E. 1987. Historic changes in fish communities and aquatic habitats in plains streams of Kansas. In Community and evolutionary ecology of North American stream fishes, ed. W.J. Matthews and D.C. Heins, 155–65. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Culliton, T.J., Warren, M.A., Goodspeed, T.R., Remer, D.G., Blackwell, C.M., McDonough, J.J. III. 1990. Fifty years of population change along the nation’s coasts 1960-2010. Brancy, Md.: NOAA, Oceans Assessments Division, Strategic Assessment.
Deacon, J. 1988. The endangered woundfin and water management in the Virgin River, Arizona. Fisheries 13: 18–29.
Ehrlich, P., Ehrlich, A. 1981. Extinction: The causes and consequences of the disappearance of species. New York: Random House.
Foster, M.S., Schiel, D.R. 1985. The ecology of giant kelp forests in California: A community profile. U.S. Fish Wildl. Ser. Biol. Rept. 85(7.2).
Glade, A.A., ed. 1987. Libro rojo de los vertebrados terrestres de Chile. Santiago: Corporacion Nacional Forestal.
Goeden, G.B. 1982. Intensive fishing and a ‘keystone’ predator species: Ingredients for community instability. Biol. Cons. 22: 273–81.
Gosselink, J.G., Lee, L.C. 1987. Cumulative impact assessment in bottom-land hardwood forests. Report LSU-CEI-86-09. Baton Rouge: Center for Wetland Resources. Louisiana State University.
Goulding, M. 1980. The fishes and the forest. Explorations in Amazonian Natural History. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Haines, T.A. 1986. Fish population trends in response to surface water acidification. In Acid deposition: Long term trends, ed. C.M. Atad, Washington, D.C.: National Academic Press.
Harris, J.E., ed. 1987. Proceedings of the conference on Australian threatened fishes. Sydney: Division of Fisheries, Department of Agriculture.
Harris, J.E. ed. 1988. Australian threatened fishes- 1988 supplement. Report of the Australian Society of Fish Biology.
Harris, L.D. 1988. The nature of cumulative impacts on biotic diversity of wetland vertebrates. Environ. Manage. 12 (5): 675–93.
Harris, L.D., Eisenberg, J. 1989. Enhanced linkages: Necessary steps for success in conservation of faunal diversity. In Conservation for the twenty-first century, ed. D. Western and M.C. Pearl, 166–81. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hesse, L.W. 1987. Taming the wild Missouri River: What will it cost? Fisheries (Bethesda) 12: 2–9.
Hesse, L.W., Chaffin, G.R. Brabander, J. 1989. Missouri River mitigation: A systems approach. Fisheries (Bethesda) 14: 11–15.
Hughes, N.F. 1986. Changes in the feeding biology of the Nile perch, Lates nilotica (L.) in Lake Victoria, East Africa, since its introduction in 1960 and its impact on the native fish community of the Nyasa Gulf. J. Fish. Biol. 29: 521–48.
Interagency Task Force on Floodplain Management. 1989. A status report on the nation’s floodplain management activity. Washington, D.C.: L.R. Johnston.
International Institute for Environment and Development and World Resources Institute. 1987. World resources 1987. New York: Basic Books.
Juday, R.D. 1982. National fisheries survey. Report USFWS/OBS-84/06. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Karr, J.R. 1981. Assessment of biotic integrity using fish communities. Fisheries (Bethesda) 7: 2–8.
Kaufman, L. 1988. Marine biodiversity: The sleeping dragon. Cons. Biol. 2: 307–8.
Lanly, J.P. 1982. Tropical forest resources. Food and Agriculture Organization Forestry Paper 30. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization.
Larsson, U., Rosenberg, R., Edler, L. 1986. Eutrophication in marine waters surrounding Sweden: A review. Solna, Sweden: National Swedish Environ-mental Protection Board.
Leidy, R.A. 1984. Distribution and ecology of stream fishes in the San Francisco Bay drainage. Hilgardia 52: 1–175.
Leidy, R.A., Fiedler, P.L. 1985. Human disturbance and patterns of fish species diversity in the San Francisco Bay drainage. Biol. Cons. 33: 247–68.
Lelek, A. 1987. The freshwater fishes of Europe. Vol. 9: Threatened fishes of Europe. Wisbaden, W. Germany: Aula-Verlag.
Li, H.W., Schreck, C.B., Bond, C.E., Rexstad, E. 1987. Factors influencing changes in fish assemblages of Pacific Northwest streams. In Community and evolutionary ecology of North American stream fishes, ed. W.J. Matthews and D.C. Heins, 193–202. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
Lovejoy, T.E. 1980. A projection of species extinctions. In The Gobal 2000 report to the president: Entering the twenty-first century, ed. G.O. Barney, 328–31. Washington, D.C.: Council on Environmental Quality.
Maitland, P.S. 1985. Criteria for the selection of important sites for freshwater fish in the British Isles. Biol. Cons. 31: 335–53.
Manire, C.A., Gruber, S.H. 1990. Many sharks may be headed toward extinction. Cons. Biol. 4: 10–11.
Matusek, J.E., Beggs, G.L. 1988. Fish species richness in relation to lake area, pH, and other abiotic factors in Ontario lakes. Can. J. Fish. Aqua. Sci. 45: 1931–41.
Mearns, A.J., Matta, M.B., Simecel-Beatty, D., Buchman, M.F., Shigenaka, G., Wert, W. A. 1988. PCB and chlorinated pesticide contamination in U.S. fish and shellfish: A historical assessment report. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Tech. Memor. NOS OMA 39. Rockville, Md.: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce.
Meffe, G.K., Vrijenhoek, R.C. 1988. Conservation genetics in the management of desert fishes. Cons. Biol. 2: 159–69.
McCabe, C.A., Hall, H.D., Barkley, R.C. 1981. Yazoo area pump study, Yazoo backwater project, Mississippi. Unpublished report. Jackson, Miss.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
McDowall, R.M. 1984. Designing reserves for freshwater fish in New Zealand. J. Royal Soc. N.Z. 14: 17–27.
Micklin, P.P. 1988. Desiccation of the Aral Sea: A water management disaster in the Soviet Union. Science 241: 1170–76.
Miller, R.R., Williams, J.D. Williams, J.E. 1989. Extinctions of North American fishes during the past century. Fisheries (Bethesda) 14: 22–38.
Mills, K.H., Schindler, D.W. 1986. Biological indicators of lake acidification. Water Air Soil Pollut. 30: 779–89.
Mitsch, W.J., Gosselink, J.G. 1986. Wetlands. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Moyle, P.B. 1976. Inland fishes of California. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Moyle, P.B. 1986. Fish introductions into North America: Patterns and ecological impact. In Biological invasions of North America and Hawaii, ed. H.A. Mooney and J.A. Drake, 27–43. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Moyle, P.B. 1991. Ballast water introductions. Fisheries (Bethesda) 16: 4–6.
Moyle, P.B. Cech, J.J. Jr. 1988. Fishes: An introduction to ichthyology, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Moyle, P.B., Nichols, R. 1974. Decline of the native fish fauna of the Sierra Nevada foothills, central California. Amer. Midi. Nat. 92: 72–83.
Moyle, P.B., Sato, G.M. 1991. On the design of preserves to protect native fishes. In Battle against extinction: Native fish management in the American West, ed. W.L. Minckley and J.E. Deacon. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Moyle, P.B., Williams, J.E. 1990. Biodiversity loss in the temperate zone: Decline of the native fish fauna of California. Cons. Biol. 4: 475–84.
Moyle, P.B., J.E. Williams, and E.D. Wikramanayake. 1989. Fish species of special concern of California. Sacramento: California Department of Fish and Game.
Myers, N. 1980. Conversion of tropical moist forests. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.
Myers, N. 1983. Conservation of rain forests for scientific research, for wildlife conservation, and for recreation and tourism. In Tropical rain forest ecosystems, structure and function, ed. F.B. Golley, 325–34. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Nehlsen, W., Williams, J.E., Lichatowich, J.A. 1991. Pacific salmon at the crossroads: Stocks at risk from California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Fisheries (Bethesda) 16: 4–21.
O’Keeffe, J.H. 1989. Conserving rivers in southern Africa. Biol. Cons. 49: 255–74.
Olmsted, L.L., Cloutman, D.G. 1974. Repopulation after a fish kill in Mud Creek, Washington County, Arkansas, following pesticide pollution. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 103: 79–87.
Ono, R.D., Williams, J.O., Wagner, A. 1983. Vanishing fishes of North America. Washington, D.C.: Stone Wall Press.
Pathiyagoda, R. 1991. Freshwater fishes of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka.
Petrere, M. Jr. 1989. River fisheries in Brazil: A review. Regulated Rivers 4: 1–16.
Power, M., Matthews, W., Stewart, A.J. 1985. Grazing minnows, piscivorous bass, and stream algae: Dynamics of a strong interaction. Ecology 66: 1448–56.
Preston, E.M., Bedford, B.L. 1988. Evaluating cumulative effects of wetland functions: A conceptual overview and generic framework. Environ. Manage. 12: 675–93.
Randall, J.E. 1982. Tropical marine sanctuaries and their significance in reef fisheries research. In The biological basis for reef fishery management, ed. G.R. Huntsman, W.R. Nicholson, and W.W. Fox, 167–78. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Tech. Memor. NMFS-SEFC-80. Rockville, Md.: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Ray, G.C. 1988. Ecological diversity in coastal zones and oceans. In Biodiversity, ed. E.O. Wilson, 128–50. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Ray, G.C., Gregg, W.P. Jr. 1991. Establishing biosphere reserves for coastal barrier ecosystems. Bioscience 41: 301–9.
Robison, H.W., Buchanan, T.M. 1988. Fishes of Arkansas. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press.
Rozengurt, M.M., Hedgepeth, J.W. 1989. The impact of altered river flow on the ecosystem of the Caspian Sea. Rev. Aquatic Sci. 1: 337–62.
Rozengurt, M.M., Hertz, M.J., Feld, S. 1987. The role of water diversions in the decline of fisheries of the delta-San Francisco Bay and other estuaries. Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies Tech. Rep. no. 87–8. Tiburon, Calif.: Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies.
Ryder, R.A. 1978. Fish yield assessment of large lakes and reservoirs-a prelude to management. In Ecology of freshwater fish production, ed. S.A. Gerking, 402–23. London: Blackwell Scientific.
Schindler, D.W. 1988. Effects of acid rain on freshwater ecosystems. Science 239: 149–57.
Schofield, C.L. 1988. Lake acidification in wilderness areas: An evaluation of impacts and options for rehabilitation. In Ecosystem management for parks and wilderness, ed. J.K. Agee and D.R. Johnson, 135–44. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press.
Scoppetone, G.G., Coleman, M., Wedemeyer, G.A. 1986. Life history and status of the endangered cui-ui of Pyramid Lake, Nevada. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fish, Wildl. Res. 1. Reno, Nev.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Scott, D.A., Carbonell, M. compilers. 1986. A directory of neotropical wet-lands. Cambridge and Slimbridge, U.K.: International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and International Waterfowl Research Bureau.
Scudder, T. 1989. River basin projects in Africa. Environment 31: 4–32.
Senanayake, F.R., Moyle, P.B. 1982. Conservation of the freshwater fishes of Sri Lanka. Biol Cons. 22: 181–95.
Sheldon, A.L. 1988. Conservation of stream fishes: Patterns of diversity, rarity, and risk. Cons. Biol. 2: 149–56.
Sigler, W.F., Helm, W.T., Kucera, P.A., Vigg, S., Workman, G.W. 1983. Life history of the Lahontan cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki henshawi, in Pyramid Lake, Nevada. Great Basin Nat. 43: 1–29.
Simberloff, D. 1986. Are we on the verge of a mass extinction in tropical rain forests? In Dynamics of extinction, ed. D.K. Elliot, 1165–80. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Simpson, P.W., Newman, J.R., Kevin, M.A., Matter, R.M., Guthrie, R.A. 1982. Manual of stream channelization impacts on fish and wildlife. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services, Rep. 82/24. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Skelton, P.H. 1987. South African red data book-fishes. South African National Scientific Programmes Rep. 137.
Smith, F.E. 1987a. Water development and management in the Central Valley of California and the public trust. Sacramento: U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.
Smith, F.E. 1987b. The changing face of California’s central valley fish and wildlife resources and the bay-delta hearings. Sacramento: U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.
Smith, M.M., Heemstra, P.C., eds. 1986. Smith’s sea fishes. Johannesburg: Macmillan.
Terborgh, J. 1988. The big things that run the world-a sequel to E.O. Wilson. Cons. Biol. 2: 402–3.
Tiner, R.W. 1984. Wetlands of the United States: Current status and recent trends. National wetlands inventory. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. 1987. Review of the state of the world fishery resources. Rome: United Nations.
U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment. 1987. Waters in marine environments. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1979. Fish kills caused by pollution, fifteen year summary 1961–1975. U.S. EPA Rep. 440/4–78–011. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1986. Report to Congress on the discharge of hazardous wastes to publicly owned treatment works. U.S. EPA Rep. 530-SW-86-004. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1989. List of waters in the United States impaired by toxic and nontoxic pollutants. Report to Congress, Clean Water Act, Section 304(1) Summary.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1989. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants. Reprint of 50 C.F.R., 17.11 and 17. 12. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Welcomme, R.L. 1985. River fisheries. FAO Tech. Paper 262.
Western, D. 1989. Conservation without parks: Wildlife in the rural landscape. In Conservation for the twenty-first century, ed. D. Western and M.C. Pearl, 158–65. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wharton, C.H., Kitchens, W.M., Pendleton, E.C., Sipe, T.W. 1982. The ecology of bottomland hardwood swamps of the Southeast: A community profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Services Program. FWS/OBS-81/37.
Whigham, D.F., Chitterling, C., Palmer, B. 1988. Impacts of freshwater wetlands on water quality: A landscape perspective. Environ. Manage. 12: 663–74.
White, G.F. 1988. The environmental effects of the high dam at Aswan. Environment 30: 5–40.
Williams, J.E., Johnson, J.E., Hendrickson, D.A., Contreras-Balderas, S., Williams, J.D., Navarro-Mendoza, M., NcAllister, D.E., Deacon, J.E. 1989. Fishes of North America, endangered, threatened, or of special concern: 1989. Fisheries (Bethesda) 14: 2–20.
Wilson, E.O., ed. 1988. Biodiversity. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
World Resources Institute. 1988. World resources 1988–89: An assessment of the resource base that supports the global economy. New York: Basic Books.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Routledge, Chapman & Hall, Inc. and Diane C. Fiedler
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Moyle, P.B., Leidy, R.A. (1992). Loss of Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems: Evidence from Fish Faunas. In: Fiedler, P.L., Jain, S.K. (eds) Conservation Biology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6426-9_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6426-9_6
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-6428-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-6426-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive