A baseline for assessing the ecological integrity of Western Amazon rivers

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Anderson, Elizabeth P., Encalada, Andrea C., Couto, Thiago B. A., Beveridge, Claire F., Herrera-R, Guido A., Heilpern, Sebastian A., Almeida, Rafael M., Cañas-Alva, Carlos, Correa, Sandra B., de Souza, Lesley S., Duponchelle, Fabrice, Garcia-Davila, Carmen, Goulding, Michael, López-Casas, Silvia, Maldonado-Ocampo, Javier A., Miranda-Chumacero, Guido, Montoya, Mariana, Piland, Natalia C., Victoria-Lacy, Lulu, Varese, Mariana and Jenkins, Clinton N. (2025) A baseline for assessing the ecological integrity of Western Amazon rivers. Communications Earth and Environment, 6. ISSN 2662-4435

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Abstract

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.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Data availability: All data used in this study were publicly available. The sources are described and referenced in the Methods and in the Supplementary Information.
Uncontrolled Keywords: environmental science(all),earth and planetary sciences(all),sdg 15 - life on land ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2300
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 29 Sep 2025 11:30
Last Modified: 11 Oct 2025 15:34
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100503
DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02530-8

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