Photos: Africa's Disappearing Damselflies, Fish, and Wildflowers

Nearly Extinct Fish

Photograph courtesy Oliver Lucanus

More than 20 percent of freshwater species in Africa are on the brink of extinction, according to IUCN's latest assessment—a five-year study of 5,167 African freshwater fish, mollusks, crabs, plants, and insects.

The Singidia Tilapia Orecochromis esculentusis a type of cichlid that was once fished. It's now a victim of predation from invasive, and more aggressive, species.

According IUCN's final 2009 Red List, 37 percent of freshwater fishes—or 3,120 species—of those assessed are threatened.

(See a photo gallery of some of the world's largest freshwater fishes, many of which are facing extinction.)

Published September 2, 2010

Damselfly in Distress

Photograph courtesy Viola Clausnitzer

This fragile damselfly (Pseudagrion kaffinum) was seen only in Ethiopia's southwestern highlands during IUCN's assessment of African freshwater species, published in September 2010. Growing human populations and wetland pollution threaten to wipe out the species completely.

"Freshwaters provide a home for a disproportionate level of the world's biodiversity," said Jean-Christophe Vié, deputy head of IUCN’s Species Programme, in a statement. "Although they cover just one per cent of the planet's surface, freshwater ecosystems are actually home to around seven per cent of all species."

Published September 2, 2010

Rising Out of the Mud

Photograph courtesy Nick Helme

Oxalis dines is another wetland flower is South Africa's Western Cape that is threatened by agriculture and grazing livestock. IUCN officials have said they hope the new report shines a spotlight on what's at stake in some of Africa's nascent, but large, water projects, including several dams.

“Africa is home to an astonishingly diverse range of freshwater species, many of which are found nowhere else on earth,” William Darwall, leader of the project and manager of IUCN’s Freshwater Biodiversity Unit, said in a statement.

Published September 2, 2010

Endangered Food

Photograph courtesy George F. Turner

The "chambo" (Oreochromis karongae) is endemic to Lake Malawi and among the most valuable species for subsistence fishers in Africa. Because of over-harvesting, nearly 70 percent of the chambo in the lake have disappeared over the past ten years, threatening the livelihood of thousands of locals. Across sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 7.5 million people rely on freshwater fish for food and income.

“If we don’t stem the loss of these species, not only will the richness of Africa’s biodiversity be reduced forever, but millions of people will lose a key source of income, food and materials," said William Darwall, leader of the IUCN project and manager of the organization's Freshwater Biodiversity Unit, in a statement.

Published September 2, 2010

Freshwater Mollusk

Photograph courtesy Dai G. Herbert

Population growth threatens the only habitat this mollusk knows—a wetland in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province. Septaria tessellaria now appears on IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species.

Freshwater species such as mollusks, dragonflies, crabs, and aquatic plants play a critical role in keeping wetlands healthy. Mollusks in particular are important water filters.

Published September 2, 2010

Crabmeat

Photograph courtesy Piotr Naskrecki

A common creek crab, Liberonautes latidactylus is the most common freswater crab in western Africa. It prefers small streams in rainforests and savannahs, and is harvested for food. The crab now finds itself on IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species.

An estimated 126,000 known species rely on freshwater habitats, according to IUCN.

Published September 2, 2010