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Identifying the current and future status of freshwater connectivity corridors in the Amazon Basin

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Title Identifying the current and future status of freshwater connectivity corridors in the Amazon Basin
 
Creator Caldas, Bernardo
Thieme, Michele L.
Shahbol, Natalie
Coelho, Maria E.
Grill, Guenther
Van Damme, Paul A.
Aranha, Ricardo
Cañas, Carlos
Fagundes, Camila K.
Franco-Leon, Nicole
Herrera-Collazos, Edgar E.
Jézéquel, Céline
Montoya, Mariana
Mosquera-Guerra, Frederico
Oliveira-da-Costa, Marcelo
Paschoalini, Mariana
Petry, Paulo
Oberdorff; Thierry
Trujillo, Fernando
Tedesco, Pablo A.
de Brito Ribeiro, Mauro César Lambert
 
Subject amazon river
freshwater
biodiversity
energy generation
amazonas (brasil)
agua dulce
biodiversidad
generación de energía
 
Description The Amazon Basin features a vast network of healthy, free-flowing rivers, which provides habitat for the most biodiverse freshwater fauna of any basin globally. However, existing and future infrastructure developments, including dams, threaten its integrity by diminishing river connectivity, altering flows, or changing sediment regimes, which can impact freshwater species. In this study, we assess critical rivers that need to be maintained as freshwater connectivity corridors (FCCs) for selective freshwater species—long-distance migratory fishes and turtles (both with migrations >500 km) and river dolphins. We define FCCs as river stretches of uninterrupted river connectivity that provide important riverine and floodplain habitat for long-distance migratory and other species and that maintain associated ecosystem functions. We assessed more than 340,000 km of river, beginning with an assessment of the connectivity status of all rivers and then combining river status with models of occurrence of key species to map where FCCs occur and how they could be affected under a scenario of proposed dams. We identified that in 2019, 16 of 26 very long (>1000 km) rivers are free-flowing but only 9 would remain free-flowing if all proposed dams are built. Among long and very long rivers (>500 km), 93 are considered FCCs. Under the future scenario, one-fifth (18) of these long and very long FCCs—those that are of critical importance for long-distance migrants and dolphins—would lose their FCC status, including the Amazon, the Negro, Marañ on, Napo, Ucayali, Preto do Igap o Açu, Beni, and Uraricoera rivers. To avoid impacts of poorly sited infrastructure, we advocate for energy and water resources planning at the basin scale that evaluates alternative development options and limits development that will impact on FCCs. The results also highlight where corridors could be designated as protected from future fragmentation.
 
Date 2023-01
2022-12-20T08:01:13Z
2022-12-20T08:01:13Z
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Caldas, B.; Thieme, M.L.; Shahbol, N.; Coelho, M.E.; Grill, G.; Van Damme, P.A.; Aranha, R.; Cañas, C.; Fagundes, C.K.; Franco-Leon, N.; Herrera-Collazos, E.E.; Jézéquel, C.; Montoya, M.; Mosquera-Guerra, F.; Oliveira-da-Costa, M.; Paschoalini, M.; Petry, P.; Oberdorff; T.; Trujillo, F.; Tedesco, P.A.; de Brito Ribeiro, M.C.L. (2022) Identifying the current and future status of freshwater connectivity corridors in the Amazon Basin. Conservation Science and Practice e12853 First Published (14 December 2022) 21 p. ISSN: 2578-4854
2578-4854
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/126100
https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12853
 
Language en
 
Rights CC-BY-4.0
Open Access
 
Format 21 p.
application/pdf
 
Publisher Wiley
 
Source Conservation Science and Practice