Biodiversity in freshwater systems is impacted as much or more by environmental change than tropical rain forests, according to University of Oklahoma Professor Caryn Vaughn, who serves as director of the Oklahoma Biological Survey. “When we think about species becoming extinct, we don’t necessarily think of the common species in freshwater systems, many of which are declining,” says Vaughn.

“We need to be concerned about these cuts, because these common species provide many goods and services to humans,” she states. “The factors underlying these declines are water pollution, destruction and habitat degradation and environmental changes, such as overexploitation of water and aquatic organisms, which are all linked to human activities. Freshwater biodiversity is also threatened by climate change is expected to alter species ranges and abundance. ”

Vaughn studies of freshwater mussels or clams, which live in rivers in Oklahoma. North America contains the greatest diversity of freshwater mussels in the world with over 300 species, but more than 50 percent of these species are in decline. Oklahoma contains 55 species of mussels, mostly in rivers in the eastern part of the state.

The freshwater mussels to fill roles in ecosystems have not been studied so far, so the study Vaughn is at the forefront of research on freshwater ecosystems. “We have seen that environmental changes cause a shift of species in freshwater ecosystems, including changes in the mussel fauna of Oklahoma, says Vaughn.” We need to understand how these changes will influence molds to provide services in these systems. ”

Mussels feed by filtering on the water with their gills, mussels and act as a biological filtration system in freshwater ecosystems. The loss of these critical species can result in water quality decreased and added costs for water treatment. Because they are large with hard shells, mussels also provide or improve habitat for many other aquatic organisms.

Multiple approaches are needed to achieve the goal of research to understand Vaughn goods and services provided by communities of mussels, how these may be affected by environmental change and how we can better manage our water resources to protect mussels and human needs. The study was conducted in southern Oklahoma where there is an abundance of mussel species.

Vaughn believes that we must rethink how we use water in the future because it will impact the quality of life for the next 100 years. “Water is our most precious resource,” said Vaughn. “The amount of water sustainability and quality is a basic need for wildlife and humans and is essential for economic growth. She works with several state agencies and participates in a working group to meet the challenges of water in the state and make recommendations to protect this resource.

Vaughn has recently published an article on the subject matter in January 2010 of the scientific journal BioScience. The National Science Foundation provided funding through a grant for this research.

from:sciencedaily.com