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Endangered Animals in Freshwater

The Endangered Species Act was created to protect animals in danger of going extinct. It is jointly enforced by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. The act protects many varieties of organisms, including plants, reptiles, bird, fish and mammals. The two departments generally try to protect endangered species, protect their habitats and protect at-risk species to prevent them from becoming extinct. Many of these species live in vulnerable freshwater habitats.

Fish
- Many species of freshwater catfish are endangered worldwide.
  
  Freshwater fish face a number of threats different from their saltwater cousins. For example, the Gila topminnow, an endangered fish from the American southwest, is losing habitat to irrigation and drought. Others, like the Apache trout (also from the southwest), are threatened by cross-breeding with non-native trout released for sport fishing. Other endangered fish include Turkey's ala balik, Japan's ayumodoki, Mexico's blind cave catfish and Thailand's monstrous giant catfish.
Amphibinas
- Habitat loss threatens many frogs, toads and other amphibians.
  
  Endangered amphibians face many of the same challenges fish do. For example, the Sonoran tiger salamader is greatly threatened by habitat loss, much like the Gila topminnow. However, these salamanders also suffer from a viral disease, spread inadvertently from pond to pond by livestock and humans. Development also threatens them, breaking apart their habitats. Other threatened amphibians include Japan's giant salamanders, Israel's painted frog and Panama's golden toad.
Reptiles
- Many water snakes are endangered.
  
  Habitat loss is again a major factor in many reptiles' endangered status. For example, the Atlantic salt marsh snake has been driven out of much of its native range. This snake now survives only in a single county in Florida. Reptiles around the world are endangered, including the American alligator, the American crocodile, the Chinese crocodile, the saltwater crocodile, the Orinoco cayman, Brazil's Amazon cayman and America's water moccasin, a poisonous water snake.
Invertibrates
- Freshwater snails, shrimp and clams face the same pressures as other endangered species
  
  It is easy to ignore invertebrates in discussions about endangered animals. They are small and often not as cute or interesting as larger animals. However, they face the same pressures as more charismatic animals. Some desert crustaceans live for only a few weeks, then lay eggs that survive until the next year as their seasonal ponds dry up. These pools are easily overlooked in conservation plans. Other invertibrates, like dwarf wedgemussel, are being pushed aside by invasive species like the zebra mussel.

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