The Interconnected Nature of Multiple Threats are Impacting Freshwater Biodiversity

Freshwater biodiversity is in crisis across the globe: the significant extraction, modification, and pollution of freshwater resources puts these communities and systems at great risk. Here, using probabilistic network analysis, we show that globally and across all taxonomic groups and geographic regions, threats to freshwater species are interconnected and do not occur in isolation. However, we also find that species in higher risk categories are more acutely threatened by single, dominant threats as compared to species at lower risk of global extinction. Determining when and which species are threatened by isolated threats or a suite of co-occurring threats provides important information for designing effective freshwater conservation strategies.