Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
Fragmentation of Andes-to-Amazon connectivity by hydropower dams
Author(s)
Anderson, Elizabeth P.;Jenkins, Clinton N.;Heilpern, Sebastian;Maldonado-Ocampo, Javier A.;Carvajal-Vallejos, Fernando M.;Encalada, Andrea C.;Rivadeneira, Juan Francisco;Hidalgo, Max;Cañas, Carlos M.;Ortega, Hernan;Salcedo, Norma;Maldonado, Mabel;Tedesco, Pablo A.
Published
2018
Publisher
Science Advances
Published Version DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aao1642
Abstract
Andes-to-Amazon river connectivity controls numerous natural and human systems in the greater Amazon. However, it is being rapidly altered by a wave of new hydropower development, the impacts of which have been previously underestimated. We document 142 dams existing or under construction and 160 proposed dams for rivers draining the Andean headwaters of the Amazon. Existing dams have fragmented the tributary networks of six of eight major Andean Amazon river basins. Proposed dams could result in significant losses in river connectivity in river mainstems of five of eight major systems—the Napo, Marañón, Ucayali, Beni, and Mamoré. With a newly reported 671 freshwater fish species inhabiting the Andean headwaters of the Amazon (>500 m), dams threaten previously unrecognized biodiversity, particularly among endemic and migratory species. Because Andean rivers contribute most of the sediment in the mainstem Amazon, losses in river connectivity translate to drastic alteration of river channel and floodplain geomorphology and associated ecosystem services.
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB23880