Page 573 - e-Book

Figure 1: Impact of climate change on freshwater ecosystem
hydroelectric power generation, extracting water from the freshwater for agricultural and

industrial usage. The obstructive migration corridors can be found due to the fragmentation of
the stream and riverways by constructing dams, deforestation, and water extraction for the

sake of human society development (Allan and Flecker, 1993). Those diversions are

destructive to the natural habitat of aquatic living organisms. The aquatic bodies get
disconnected. The study of the local community composition also depends on the

connectivity between lakes and rivers (i.e., lentic and lotic habitats, respectively) (Miranda
2005). Riparian floodplains either play a role of the nursery habitat for many fish species or

provides seasonal nutrients to the river, manifesting aquatic communities’ dependency on
wetlands (Meyer and Edwards, 1990; Sparks et al., 1990; Bayley, 1995). If these floodplains

become disconnected from the main rivers because of reduced streamflows, aquatic

productivity and diversity may decline.
CONCLUSION

Each ecosystem including freshwater is a unique, globally important resource of

immeasurable worth. This change in the freshwater ecosystem is affecting social-ecological
and economic sustainability synchronously. According to Angermeier (2007), society should

confess few fundamental issues regarding freshwater conservation: firstly, the freshwater
ecosystem is truly in danger; secondly, the principal reason for this situation is human

interference mostly; and finally, the present conservation endeavors are not at the satisfactory
point to preserve this ecosystem. Mass awareness is essential regarding the freshwater

ecosystem and its urgent need for conservation. The growth of proper guidelines and their

implementation both by the Government and common people is essential. More campaigns

563