Balancing hydropower and biodiversity in the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong

Winemiller, Kirk O.; McIntyre, Peter B.; Castello, Leandro; Fluet‐Chouinard, Etienne; Giarrizzo, Tommaso; So, Nam; Baird, Ian G.; Darwall, William; Lujan, Nathan K.; Harrison, Ian; Stiassny, Melanie L. J.; Silvano, Renato Azevedo Matias; Fitzgerald, Daniel B.; Pelicice, Fernando Mayer; Agostinho, Ângelo Antônio; Gomes, Luiz Carlos; Albert, James S.; Baran, E.; Petrere, Miguel; Zarfl, Christiane; Mulligan, Mark; Sullivan, John P.; Arantes, Caroline C.; Sousa, Leandro Melo de; Koning, Aaron A.; Hoeinghaus, David J.; Sabaj, Mark H.; Lundberg, John G.; Armbruster, Jonathan W.; Thieme, Michele; Petry, Paulo; Zuanon, Jansen; Torrente‐Vilara, Gislene; Snoeks, Jos; Ou, Ching Hsiewn; Rainboth, W; Pavanelli, Carla Simone; Akama, Alberto; Soesbergen, Arnout van; Sáenz, Leonardo

doi:10.1126/science.aac7082

Cited by 1,264 publications

(894 citation statements)

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“…The Purus River catchment meets the definition of a wilderness area (24), with high remaining forest cover and low population densities (Table S1). It is the only major Amazonian tributary whose watershed remains undammed, and one of three with an undammed main channel (22). Tambaqui was selected as our focal wildlife species both due to its socioecological importance and because we believed that it presented us with the best chance of detecting overfishing-induced spatial population trends, which are commonly masked in freshwater systems by a synergy of other pressures (21).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…area well within the definition of a tropical wilderness area (24). It is also one of just three major Amazonian tributaries with an undammed main channel, and the only one whose watershed remains wholly undammed (22).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Understanding metropolitan impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems is critical in the Amazon, the world's largest tropical rainforest and drainage basin, with over 1 million km 2 of freshwater ecosystems (21) and more fish species than the Congo and Mekong basins combined (22). Human demographic changes in the Amazon illustrate how the demand for wild meat harvest has urbanized.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Rainforest metropolis casts 1,000-km defaunation shadow

Tregidgo

Barlow

Pompeu

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Tropical rainforest regions are urbanizing rapidly, yet the role of emerging metropolises in driving wildlife overharvesting in forests and inland waters is unknown. We present evidence of a large defaunation shadow around a rainforest metropolis. Using interviews with 392 rural fishers, we show that fishing has severely depleted a large-bodied keystone fish species, tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), with an impact extending over 1,000 km from the rainforest city of Manaus (population 2.1 million). There was strong evidence of defaunation within this area, including a 50% reduction in body size and catch rate (catch per unit effort). Our findings link these declines to city-based boats that provide rural fishers with reliable access to fish buyers and ice and likely impact rural fisher livelihoods and flooded forest biodiversity. This empirical evidence that urban markets can defaunate deep into rainforest wilderness has implications for other urbanizing socioecological systems.ecological footprint | fishing down | overfishing | urbanization | freshwater biodiversity

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Rainforest metropolis casts 1,000-km defaunation shadow

Tregidgo

Barlow

Pompeu

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Amazonian hydroelectric dams are commonly justified on the basis of providing renewable energy and avoiding carbon emissions, while supplying energy needed for economic development. Recent scientific reviews have considered environmental impacts of damming Amazonian rivers [1][2][3] , but regrettably, the effects of dams have mainly been assessed through studies undertaken only in the vicinity of each dam 4 . Such a local-scale approach generally ignores the far larger, basin-scale, geomorphological, ecological, and political dimensions that will determine the future productive and environmental condition of the river system as a whole.…”

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confidence: 99%

Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin

Latrubesse

Arima

Dunne

et al. 2017

Nature

638

473

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SummaryMore than 100 hydropower dams have already been built in the Amazon basin and numerous proposals for further dam constructions are under consideration. The accumulated negative environmental effects of built and proposed dams, if constructed, will trigger massive hydrophysical and biotic disturbances that will impact the Amazon basin's floodplains, estuary, and sediment plume. By introducing a Dam Environmental Vulnerability Index (DEVI) we quantify the current and potential impacts of dams in the basin. The scale of foreseeable environmental degradation indicates the need for collective action among nations and states to avoid cumulative, far-field impacts. We suggest institutional innovations to assess and avoid the likely impoverishment of Amazon rivers.

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“…According to Sawakuchi et al (2014), methane fluxes in Amazon rivers account for 22-28% of the global river emissions of methane and the Amazon rias are hotspots of methane production. Rias also serve as analogs for carbon processing in artificial reservoirs like the recently build reservoirs of the Belo Monte hydropower plant in the Xingu River and future reservoirs planned for the Tapajós River (Winemiller et al, 2016). Clearwater Amazon rivers are the main target in the energy expansion plans of the Brazilian government (EPE/MME, 2007), which regards hydropower as inexpensive and clean energy, however, without consideration of impacts of river impoundment on Amazon ecosystems (Fearnside, 2014;Winemiller et al, 2016) and emission of greenhouse gases (Barros et al, 2011;de Faria et al, 2015).…”

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The Fate of Carbon in Sediments of the Xingu and Tapajós Clearwater Rivers, Eastern Amazon

Bertassoli

Sawakuchi

et al. 2017

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The Xingu and Tapajós rivers in the eastern Amazon are the largest clearwater systems of the Amazon basin. Both rivers have "fluvial rias" (i.e., lake-like channels) in their downstream reaches as they are naturally impounded by the Amazon mainstem. Fluvial rias are widespread in the Amazon landscape and most of the sedimentary load from the major clearwater and blackwater rivers is deposited in these channels. So far, little is known about the role of Amazon rias as a trap and reactor for organic sediments. In this study, we used organic and inorganic geochemistry, magnetic susceptibility, diatom, and pollen analyses in sediments (suspended, riverbed, and downcore) of the Xingu and Tapajós rias to investigate the effects of hydrologic variations on the carbon budget in these clearwater rivers over the Holocene. Ages of sediment deposition (∼100 to 5,500 years) were constrained by optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon. Major elements geochemistry and concentration of total organic carbon (TOC) indicate that seasonal hydrologic variations exert a strong influence on riverine productivity and on the input and preservation of organic matter in sediments. Stable carbon isotope data (δ 13 C from −31.04 to −27.49‰) and pollen analysis indicate that most of the carbon buried in rias is derived from forests. In the Xingu River, diatom analysis in bottom sediments revealed 65 infrageneric taxa that are mostly well-adapted to slack oligotrophic and acidic waters. TOC values in sediment cores are similar to values measured in riverbed sediments and indicate suitable conditions for organic matter preservation in sediments of the Xingu and Tapajós rias at least since the mid-Holocene, with carbon burial rates varying from about 84 g m −2 yr −1 to 169 g m −2 yr −1 . However, redox-sensitive elements in sediment core indicate alternation between anoxic/dysoxic and oxic conditions in the water-sediment interface that may be linked to abrupt changes in precipitation. The variation between anoxic/dysoxic and oxic conditions in the water-sediment interface controls organic matter mineralization and methanogenesis. Thus, such changes promoted by hydrological variations significantly affect the capacity of Amazon rias to act either as sources or sinks of carbon.

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Balancing hydropower and biodiversity in the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong

Abstract: Basin-scale planning is needed to minimize impacts in mega-diverse rivers

Cited by 1,264 publications

References 18 publications

Rainforest metropolis casts 1,000-km defaunation shadow

Rainforest metropolis casts 1,000-km defaunation shadow

Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin

The Fate of Carbon in Sediments of the Xingu and Tapajós Clearwater Rivers, Eastern Amazon

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