Biodiversity Hotspots Questions Medium
The key threats to wetland biodiversity in hotspots include habitat loss and degradation, pollution, invasive species, climate change, and overexploitation.
1. Habitat loss and degradation: Wetlands are often drained or converted for agriculture, urban development, or infrastructure projects. This leads to the destruction and fragmentation of wetland habitats, resulting in the loss of biodiversity.
2. Pollution: Wetlands are highly susceptible to pollution from industrial and agricultural activities, as well as urban runoff. Pollution can contaminate water bodies, affecting the quality of the wetland ecosystem and harming the plants and animals that depend on it.
3. Invasive species: Non-native species can invade wetland ecosystems, outcompeting native species for resources and disrupting the natural balance. Invasive species can alter the structure and function of wetlands, leading to a decline in native biodiversity.
4. Climate change: Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and sea-level rise associated with climate change pose significant threats to wetland biodiversity. These changes can disrupt the hydrological cycles of wetlands, leading to changes in water availability and affecting the survival of species adapted to specific wetland conditions.
5. Overexploitation: Unsustainable harvesting of wetland resources, such as fish, shellfish, and plants, can lead to the depletion of species populations and disrupt the ecological balance of wetland ecosystems. Overfishing, in particular, can have cascading effects on the entire food web within wetlands.
Addressing these threats requires conservation efforts focused on protecting and restoring wetland habitats, implementing pollution control measures, managing invasive species, mitigating climate change impacts, and promoting sustainable use of wetland resources.