TY - JOUR
T1 - Fragmentation of Andes-to-Amazon connectivity by hydropower dams
AU - Anderson, Elizabeth P.
AU - Jenkins, Clinton N.
AU - Heilpern, Sebastian
AU - Maldonado-Ocampo, Javier A.
AU - Carvajal-Vallejos, Fernando M.
AU - Encalada, Andrea C.
AU - Rivadeneira, Juan Francisco
AU - Hidalgo, Max
AU - Cañas, Carlos M.
AU - Ortega, Hernan
AU - Salcedo, Norma
AU - Maldonado, Mabel
AU - Tedesco, Pablo A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved;.
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - 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 eightmajor systems-the Napo, Marañón, Ucayali, Beni, andMamoré.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 andmigratory 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.
AB - 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 eightmajor systems-the Napo, Marañón, Ucayali, Beni, andMamoré.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 andmigratory 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.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85042162657&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.aao1642
DO - 10.1126/sciadv.aao1642
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 29399629
AN - SCOPUS:85042162657
SN - 2375-2548
VL - 4
JO - Science advances
JF - Science advances
IS - 1
M1 - eaao1642
ER -