Chemical pollution killing off England’s riverflies, experts warn

Fears for river ecosystems as average number of species declines

Chemical pollution is killing off the invertebrate species that are the basis of England's river ecosystems, with experts raising the alarm over falling diversity of mayfly, caddisfly and stonefly species.

A census of aquatic wildlife on 12 English rivers found that in the spring and summer 2021, the mean number of riverfly species detected had fallen. In autumn last year, an average of just 10 species were recorded in each sample, compared with 13 in 2016.