From densely developed cities and geometric agricultural plots to the ubiquitous roadways, pipelines and power grids, an aerial view of the earth reveals our impact on our landscapes. In less populated areas, unprecedented glacial melt and deep craters caused by the thawing of frozen soil and rock called permafrost megaslumps give stark reminders of the ongoing climate crisis.

Our entire global biodiversity, from these deforested lands and glaciers to coral reefs and tiny freshwater mussels, is now in jeopardy. The collapsing freshwater systems are already affecting our health and well-being by weakening our resilience to extreme climatic events and our local economies, while also disrupting water and food security.

These vital freshwater ecosystems are increasingly affected by various co-occurring threats or “cumulative effects” of human actions including urbanization, agriculture, resource development and climate change. However, managing these cumulative effects remains a challenge as their impacts on biodiversity highly vary depending on the specific mixture of threats and other ecological factors.

To address this growing need for strategic solutions for the biodiversity crisis, our team of scientists from Carleton University and Wildlife Conservation Society Canada conducted a global review of over 150 studies to understand the impacts of climate and landscape stressors on freshwater biodiversity in the messy, yet realistic, outdoor environments.

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