The wonderful world of freshwater habitats

Abstract

Water Kidz In addition to being our main source of drinking water our river systems are some of the most species-rich habitats in the world. There are various freshwater animals that inhabit rivers, wetlands and lakes (or dams in South Africa). Freshwater animals are generally defined as those animals which depend on freshwater habitats for any critical part of their lifecycle. There are hundreds of thousands of animals that are dependent on freshwater systems, mostly insects. Almost half of the world’s fish spend at least part of their lifetime in freshwater. Nearly 4 000 amphibian species (like frogs) can be found in ponds and wetlands. When you add other animals such as molluscs (e.g. snails), crocodiles, hippos and otters to this total, it becomes clear what an important role freshwater systems play in maintaining our world’s biodiversity. It is important to realise that while terrestrial and marine ecosystems have a larger percentage of known species, the relative richness of freshwater ecosystems is higher.

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