A baseline for assessing the ecological integrity of Western Amazon rivers
Amazon freshwater systems influence global hydroclimatic patterns, host unparalleled biological diversity, and support unique social-ecological systems. Rivers of the Western Amazon underpin this global importance with an outsized, underrecognized role at the Amazon Basin scale. Here we examined the status of several components—hydrology, sediments, freshwater fish biodiversity, and longitudinal river connectivity—that support the ecological integrity of Western Amazon rivers and their linkage to the greater Amazon Basin. Streamflow is largely driven by precipitation and the region supplies nearly all sediments delivered by the Amazon River to the Atlantic Ocean. The Western Amazon harbors 74% of the ichthyofauna of the entire Amazon Basin. Existing dams and road crossings have disrupted longitudinal river connectivity on several rivers. We estimated that 47.8 million people reside in the Amazon Basin, with more than half (58%) inhabiting the Western Amazon. This study helps establish a baseline for tracking change in Western Amazon river ecosystems. Western Amazon rivers play a critical and underrecognized role in sustaining the Amazon Basin’s ecological integrity, according to analysis of the status of the hydrology and sediments, biodiversity, and longitudinal connectivity across the region.
Authors
- Sebastián Heilpern (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8673-3149)
- Fabrice Duponchelle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0497-2264)
- Natalia C. Piland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4176-0773)
- Claire Beveridge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6257-040X)
- Guido Miranda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8875-8005)
- Sandra Bibiana Correa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4466-6923)
- Elizabeth P. Anderson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4641-5810)
- Michael Goulding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7609-6470)
- Mariana Montoya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3824-0582)
- Javier A. Maldonado‐Ocampo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3024-237X)
- Guido A. Herrera‐R (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5686-6362)
- Rafael M. Almeida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5398-7054)
- Andrea C. Encalada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2497-6086)
- Carlos Cañas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9076-6525)
- Lesley S. de Souza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1669-8074)
- Thiago B. A. Couto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2485-4970)
- Silvia López‐Casas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3329-4976)
- Mariana Varese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2761-4796)
- Clinton N. Jenkins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2198-0637)
- Carmen Rosa GARCÍA-DÁVILA (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4125-5563)
- Lulu Victoria‐Lacy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9731-9215)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Amazon (United States) (US)
- Wildlife Conservation Society (US)
- Ifremer (FR)
- Florida International University (US)
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- Cornell University (US)
- Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (CO)
- Field Museum of Natural History (US)
- St Johns River State College (US)
- Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (PE)
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks (US)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- Universidad San Francisco de Quito (EC)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- Mississippi State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Earth & Environment
- Published
- 2025-08-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02530-8
- Primary Topic
- Fish biology, ecology, and behavior
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Wildlife Conservation Society
- Mississippi State University
- Florida International University
- Strong
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville