How environmental stress endangers life in flowing waters
In the past decades, humans have been interfering with the
Earth’s ecosystems more strongly than ever before and have thus triggered a new
wave of mass extinction. A report published as part of the "Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment" in 2005 states that species have been going extinct
up to one thousand times more quickly in the last 50 years, compared to the
normal pace observed in the history of our planet. It's high time to do
something for the preservation of biodiversity, says Dr Florian Leese, Group
Leader of the "GeneStream" project (fig. 1). This is because
biodiversity has more than just ethical value; it also fulfils specific
functions for humans. Animals and plants are not just food; organisms in
streams, rivers and lakes filter, for example, suspended sediments and
pollutants from the water. "We have the technology to take care of many of
those functions reasonably well – but not for free," says Florian Leese.
"Why, then, should we destroy an ecosystem that provides us with drinking
and non-potable water free of charge?"