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THIS COLLECTION SUPPORTS AND AMPLIFIES RESEARCH RELATED TO SDG 14 LIFE BELOW WATER, SDG 13 CLIMATE ACTION, AND SDG 6 CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION. Freshwater ecosystems such as rivers, lakes
and wetlands have crucial roles in global biogeochemical cycles and in supporting human wellbeing through a variety of ecosystem services. However, freshwater biodiversity is in steep
decline and freshwater habitats are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of global change given their physical isolation or fragmentation, often in already heavily exploited and human-modified
landscapes. The potential consequences from global change factors such as climate warming, land-use change, pollution and species invasions are serious, but freshwaters are also relatively
understudied and insufficiently prioritised compared to terrestrial and other aquatic ecosystems. In this Collection, we invite submissions of papers that will help deepen our ecological
understanding of contemporary freshwater ecosystems and the threats they face from global change. We encourage submission of studies that focus on natural freshwaters, including lentic
(lakes, ponds), lotic (streams, rivers) and wetland systems. We are particularly interested in studies that provide insight into the effects of global change factors on freshwater
populations, communities and ecosystem services, as well as multidisciplinary studies involving earth and environmental science in which the focus is on freshwater biodiversity.