Fauna of Inland Waters

Abstract

In the conjunction of the Nearctic and Neotropical regions, Mexico is one of a selected and small group of countries displaying megadiversity. Its irregular topography and climate diversity favored the development of a large variety of inland water bodies, both lentic and lotic, and a diverse and rich aquatic biodiversity, with many endemisms and microendemisms. During the Anthropocene, the climate has experienced unusual irregularity with extreme drought events that have led to the decrease in the water levels of the inland water bodies, even to their desiccation. In addition to climate change, unsustainable water uses in Mexico (e.g., agriculture, industry, wastewater, eutrophication) lead to inland aquatic habitat loss and degradation by impacting the water quality and quantity of Mexican lakes and rivers. Increasing anthropic development is threatening the aquatic biodiversity and has resulted in the extinction of many aquatic species.