 Freshwater fishes are particularly vulnerable to habitat destruction because they reside in small bodies of water which are often very close to human activity and thus easily polluted by trash, chemicals, waste, and other agents which are harmful to freshwater habitats.Land use changes cause major shifts in aquatic ecosystems.Deforestation can change the structure and sedimentary composition of streams, which changes the functionality of the habitat for many fish species and can reduce species richness, evenness, and diversity.