the wetlands, marshes, swamps and bogs associated with these water
bodies. Freshwater systems provide multiple services to both humans
and the environment, including 1) provisioningwater for consumption,
energy, and transportation; 2) cultural amenities such as recreation,
tourism and religious significance; 3) maintaining water quality, flood
and erosion control; and 4) supporting biodiversity and ecosystem
function such as nutrient and carbon cycling and primary production
(Aylward et al., 2005).
The intensifying exploitation of freshwater resources to meet the
water, energy and food needs of a rapidly growing global population
often places biodiversity and other ecosystem functions at risk. The
degradation of these services is exacerbated by climate change and
variability. Surface freshwaters are among the most anthropogenically
modified ecosystems on Earth (Carpenter, Stanley, & Vander Zanden,