Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 114, Issue 32, Pages 8655-8659Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1614499114
Keywords
ecological footprint; fishing down; overfishing; urbanization; freshwater biodiversity
Categories
Funding
- Natural Environment Research Council [NE/K501001/1]
- Feed the World grants
- Economic and Social Research Council [ES/K010018/1]
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico [304002/2014-3]
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais [PPM-00608/15]
- European Union [691053-ODYSSEA]
- Economic and Social Research Council [ES/K010018/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- ESRC [ES/K010018/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- NERC [NE/K501001/1] Funding Source: UKRI
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Tropical rainforest regions are urbanizing rapidly, yet the role of emerging metropolises in driving wildlife overharvesting in forests and inland waters is unknown. We present evidence of a large defaunation shadow around a rainforest metropolis. Using interviews with 392 rural fishers, we show that fishing has severely depleted a large-bodied keystone fish species, tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), with an impact extending over 1,000 km from the rainforest city of Manaus (population 2.1 million). There was strong evidence of defaunation within this area, including a 50% reduction in body size and catch rate (catch per unit effort). Our findings link these declines to city-based boats that provide rural fishers with reliable access to fish buyers and ice and likely impact rural fisher livelihoods and flooded forest biodiversity. This empirical evidence that urban markets can defaunate deep into rainforest wilderness has implications for other urbanizing socioecological systems.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available