Fish biology, ecology, and behavior

Neotropical freshwater fishes represent one of the most extraordinary concentrations of vertebrate biodiversity on Earth, with the Amazon River system alone harboring thousands of species shaped by tens of millions of years of geological and evolutionary history. Researchers study how freshwater ecoregions define patterns of fish distribution, how assemblages respond to habitat degradation, and how phenomena like electroreception evolve and function across lineages. The rapid expansion of hydropower infrastructure across Amazonian watersheds has made understanding the ecological consequences of dam construction an urgent priority, as altered flow regimes and fragmented river connectivity can restructure entire fish communities and threaten subsistence fisheries that millions of people depend on. Active questions include how historical biogeographic events produced current diversity gradients, whether tropical river fisheries can remain productive under increasing human pressure, and what short-lived fish species can reveal about the biology of aging.

Works

126,513

Total citations

589,264

Keywords

Freshwater EcoregionsFish BiodiversityAmazon River SystemHydropower DamsNeotropical Fish AssemblagesAging Research