By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Researchers have found that human activities harm biodiversity, which is detrimental to the functioning of ecosystems.
A recent study from Queen Mary University of London highlights the urgent need to protect the biodiversity of Neotropical wetlands.
The large-scale study was conducted in Brazil and analyzed 72 wetland lakes in the Amazon, Araguaia, Pantanal, and Paraná regions.
The researchers examined humans’ impact on biodiversity. They also investigated how biodiversity levels affect multifunctionality, or the various functions an ecosystem provides.
“This is one of a few studies that demonstrate how human pressures compromise the functioning of wetlands through their negative impact on biodiversity,” said study co-author Dr. Pavel Kratina.
The team examined seven groups of aquatic species to demonstrate their influence on several ecosystem functions, including aquatic phosphorus and nitrogen availability, standing biomass, microorganism abundance, and underwater habitat complexity.
The experts used the Human Footprint (HFP) index to determine the level of human impact. The HFP index measures impacts from farmland, human density, light pollution, railways, roads, and navigable waterways.
The experts also discovered that fish diversity can indicate how well an ecosystem functions. According to Dr. Kratina, the study shows that an increasing human footprint correlates with a decline in species richness and functional diversity
