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
Biodiversity underpins fisheries resilience to exploitation in the Amazon river basin
Author(s)
Heilpern, Sebastian A.; Sethi, Suresh A.; Barthem, Ronaldo B.; Batista, Vandick da Silva; Doria, Carolina R. C.; Duponchelle, Fabrice; Vasquez, Aurea García; Goulding, Michael; Isaac, Victoria; Naeem, Shahid; Flecker, Alexander S.
Published
2022
Publisher
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Published Version DOI
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0726
Abstract
Inland fisheries feed greater than 150 million people globally, yet their status is rarely assessed due to their socio-ecological complexity and pervasive lack of data. Here, we leverage an unprecedented landings time series from the Amazon, Earth's largest river basin, together with theoretical food web models to examine (i) taxonomic and trait-based signatures of exploitation in inland fish landings and (ii) implications of changing biodiversity for fisheries resilience. In both landings time series and theory, we find that multi-species exploitation of diverse inland fisheries results in a hump-shaped landings evenness curve. Along this trajectory, abundant and large species are sequentially replaced with faster growing and smaller species. Further theoretical analysis indicates that harvests can be maintained for a period of time but that continued biodiversity depletion reduces the pool of compensating species and consequently diminishes fisheries resilience. Critically, higher fisheries biodiversity can delay fishery collapse. Although existing landings data provide an incomplete snapshot of long-term dynamics, our results suggest that multi-species exploitation is affecting freshwater biodiversity and eroding fisheries resilience in the Amazon. More broadly, we conclude that trends in landings evenness could characterize multi-species fisheries development and aid in assessing their sustainability.
Keywords
Amazon; multi species; data limited; ecological modelling; ecosystem management; food webs
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB35611