A new study has found an alarming decline in European aquatic life:
"European freshwater ecosystems are really under serious threats that require urgent conservation action," said study coordinator Annabelle Cuttelod in a statement.
The European Red List is a review of the conservation status of c. 6,000 European species (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fishes, butterflies, dragonflies, and selected groups of beetles, molluscs, and vascular plants) according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the European level – so that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status. The European Red List is compiled by IUCN's Species Programme, Species Survival Commission and Regional Office for Pan-Europe.
The assessment of some 6,000 species reveals that 44% of all freshwater molluscs, 37% of freshwater fish, 23% of amphibians, 20% of a selection of terrestrial molluscs, 19% of reptiles, 15% of mammals and of dragonflies, 13% of birds, 11% of a selection of saproxylic beetles, 9% of butterflies and 467 species of vascular plant species are now under threat.
