Boosting freshwater fish conservation with high-resolution distribution mapping across a large territory

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Ichthyology

Background:

• High-resolution distribution maps for freshwater species are essential for effective biodiversity conservation globally.
• Current distribution data often lack the resolution needed to identify critical habitats and conservation priorities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a framework for creating high-resolution freshwater fish distribution maps.
• To analyze biodiversity patterns and anthropogenic impacts on freshwater fish in China.
• To assess the effectiveness of existing protected areas (PAs) for freshwater fish conservation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized stacked species distribution models integrated with expert knowledge to delineate species distributions.
• Applied the framework to over 1600 freshwater fish species across China.
• Correlated biodiversity facets (richness, endemicity, phylogenetic diversity) with anthropogenic disturbances and protected area coverage.

Main Results:

• Significant correlations were found between different biodiversity facets (r = 0.43–0.98, p < 0.001).
• Areas of high biodiversity overlap with anthropogenic disturbances.
• Existing PAs protect only 16-31% of freshwater fish diversity and priority areas, with 6-21% of species completely unprotected.

Conclusions:

• The current network of PAs is insufficient for conserving China's freshwater fish fauna.
• Expansion of PAs is recommended, targeting diverse river reaches and associated lakes in northeast and southwest China.
• The developed framework offers an efficient method for designing protected areas for freshwater biodiversity globally.