Brazil's Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica)

Written by Jeremy Hance, Edited and updated by Rhett A. Butler

Coastal Mata Atlantica rainforest. Photo by Rhett A. Butler

FACTS ON BRAZIL'S ATLANTIC FOREST

Land Area: From approximately 1,233,875 square kilometers originally to 99,944 square kilometers today.
Human Population: Approximately 126 million people live in southeastern Brazil alone.
Countries: Mostly Brazil, but regions of Paraguay and Argentina, and a small area in Uruguay
Biodiversity: 264 mammals, 1,000 species of birds, over 750 species of reptiles and amphibians, 23,000 species of plants
Percent Forest Cover: Less than 7 percent of original biome extent, much of the area in small, degraded patches: 80 percent of the remaining ecosystem exits in fragments of less than half a square kilometer.
Deforestation Rate: Between 2000 and 2008, 277,763 hectares (2,777 square kilometers) of forest was lost. An average of 34,720 hectares (347 square kilometers) a year, or 0.35 percent loss annually.
Causes of Deforestation: Agriculture (primarily sugar cane and coffee), urban sprawl, cattle ranching, eucalyptus plantations.

OVERVIEW: BRAZIL'S ATLANTIC FOREST

No large tropical forest ecosystem has suffered so much loss as Mata Atlântica, also known as the Atlantic Forest. Encompassing a variety of tropical forest habitats—from dry forests to moist forests to coastal mangroves—the Mata Atlântica once stretched up-and-down Brazil's coastline, and covered parts of Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. Today, it survives largely in small degraded patches and protected areas.

Historically, the Mata Atlântica made up over a 1.2 million square kilometers (about a quarter of the size of the Amazon), but after centuries of deforestation for timber, sugar cane, coffee, cattle ranching, and urban sprawl the Mata Atlântica has declined by well over 90 percent: today less than 100,000 square kilometers of the forest remains.

Although nearly adjacent to the Amazon rainforest, the Mata Atlântica has always been isolated from its larger and more famous neighbor. It is, in fact, more ancient than the Amazon. Being cut off from other tropical forests has allowed the Mata Atlântica to evolve unique ecosystems, which harbor a large number of species found no-where else on Earth.

Although very little remains, the Mata Atlântica is no-less threatened: logging for tropical woods, urban and rural sprawl, deforestation for agriculture and biofuels, charcoal collection, clearing for cattle ranching, hunting and poaching, and the simple isolation and small size of many of the forest fragments have placed the Mata Atlantic in truly a state of crisis.

In recent decades conservation organizations and governments have begun to recognize both the importance of and the heavy losses already incurred by the Mata Atlântica. A number of ambitious projects are underway, including reforesting large parts of the land, but there has yet to be a turning point in degradation. To date, every year a little more of the Mata Atlântica vanishes.

GEOGRAPHY OF THE MATA ATLÂNTICA

While most of the Mata Atlântica lines the eastern coast of Brazil, the forest complex also extends to three other countries Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.

The Mata Atlântica is present in 13 of Brazil's 26 states, spreading into the interior from fifty to several hundred kilometers and rising as high as 2,000 meters. It spreads far into eastern Paraguay, covers apart of northeastern Argentina, and just touches the Uruguay coast.

Two of the world's largest cities, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, were both built over the Mata Atlântica. Increased urban and rural sprawl has cut into remaining pockets of forest.

BIODIVERSITY PROFILE OF THE MATA ATLÂNTICA

Despite so little forest surviving, the Mata Atlântica remains remarkably rich in biodiversity and endemic species, many of them threatened with extinction.

In terms of flora researchers have cataloged over 23,000 plants, 40 percent of which are endemic to the Mata Atlântica. The area is especially rich in unique tree species—about half of which are endemic. A survey of a single hectare in Bahia found 450 tree species.

Regarding fauna, scientists have recorded 264 mammal species, nearly 1,000 birds, 456 amphibians, over 300 reptiles, and 350 freshwater fish. In all, 31 percent of these are found no-where else. Some taxa have higher endemism than others: for example, 61 percent (282 species) of the Mata Atlântica's amphibians are only found there.

New species continue to be found in the Mata Atlântica, in fact between 1990 and 2006 over a thousand new flowering plants were discovered The area has even yielded new primate species. In 1990 researchers discovered a new tamarin: the black-faced lion tamarin (Leontopithecus caissara). In 2006 researchers rediscovered the blonde capuchin (Cebus flavius), not seen—and largely forgotten about—since the 19th Century.

Sixty percent of Brazil's endangered species are in the Mata Atlântica. Due to a number of threats and species left in small, dwindling fragments, a Brazilian conservationist, Antonio Rossano Mendes Pontes, has called species in the Mata Atlântica: 'the living dead'.

Some standouts include:

  • The lion tamarins: One of two unique primate genera in the Mata Atlântica: the lion tamarins and the muriqui. Lion tamarins are comprised of four species, three of which are classified as Endangered, and one, the black-faced lion tamarin (Leontopithecus caissara), which is considered Critically Endangered.
  • Muriquis: Although little-known by the global public, the muriquis are America's largest primates. The northern muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides)is classified as Critically Endangered and recent research has shown that the monkey live in a largely hierarchy-free, egalitarian social organization. The southern muriqui (Brachyteles hypoxanthus) is considered Endangered.
  • Blonde capuchin: Recently rediscovered the blonde capuchin (Cebus flavius) had not been recorded since the 18th Century. But researchers have found a small population of the species in nothereastern Brazil at the Pernambuco Endemism Center. The species has a bright tuft of blonde hair distinguishing it from other capuchins. It is considered Critically Endangered.
  • Brazilian arboreal mouse: Vanished for over 100 years, this species was thought extinct until recently when a number of individuals were sighted. In fact, despite being off biologists' radar for a century, the Brazilian arboreal mouse (Rhagomys rufescens) is now known to inhabit more areas than anyone could have hoped: it is classified as Near Threatened. However, it is feared that its population is in decline due to deforestation.
  • Maned sloth: A species of three-toed sloth endemic to the Mata Atlântica, so named because of its longhair. Due to continued habitat loss, the maned sloth (Bradypus torquatus) is considered Endangered. There are only six sloth species in the world.
  • Thin-spined porcupine: thought to be extinct, the thin-spined porcupine (Chaetomys subspinosus) was rediscovered in 1986. Debate over its taxonomy continues: whether the species is more closely related to porcupines or spiny rats.
  • Brazilian merganser: listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. The Brazilian merganser (Mergus octosetaceus) is one of the world's most threatened species of waterfowl. Pollution and dams are the major threats. Researchers estimate less than 250 species survive.
  • Alagoas Curasow: Currently extinct in the wild, the alagoas curasow (Mitu mitu hasn't been seen since 1987. However, a captive population survives in Rio de Janeiro and there is hope that eventually the large beautiful bird could be reintroduced into the wild.
  • Brazilian Snake-Necked Turtle: this is one of Brazil's smallest turtles, growing no longer than 8 inches. The Brazilian snake-necked turtle (Hydromedusa maximiliani) is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.
  • Brazilian Gold Frog: the smallest frog in the southern hemisphere. All the frogs in this family—called Saddle-back frogs—are endemic to the Mata Atlântica. The Brazilian gold frog (Brachycephalus didactylus) is fortunately not threatened with extinction at this time.

 

 

INDIGENOUS GROUPS OF THE MATA ATLÂNTICA

The Mata Atlântica is home to two indigenous groups: the Tupi and the Guarani.

Today, the Tupi survive in small numbers in remote areas along Brazil's coastline and the country's northern highlands. Once the dominant people along Brazil's coast, the Tupi population may have numbered as many as one million when the Portuguese first arrived. But with the arrival of westerners the Tupi were decimated by disease, war, and slavery.

The Guarani are closely related to the Tupi but speak a different language. They live today in the southern lowlands of the Mata Atlântica, stretching from Brazil to Paraguay and Argentina. The Guarani language is still widely used in regions and is the second language of Paraguay. 46,000 Guarani live in Brazil today making them the largest tribe in the country, however they are threatened by the vast network of cattle ranching, sugar cane, and soy that has been established on their traditional lands.

In all over 130,000 Tupi and Guarani live in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

FOREST TYPES OF THE MATA ATLÂNTICA

Mangroves: saline-adapted tropical forests on the coast. The Mata Atlântica has four separate regions of mangroves according to WWF. Mangroves are considered important buffers for tropical storms and nurseries for breeding fish. They also contain high levels of endemic species.

  • Montane moist forests: higher altitude wet forests across mountains and plateaus of southern Brazil.
  • Coastal Resingas: low forests that grow on coastal dunes.
  • Atlantic Moist Forests: also known as 'coastal forests', they are evergreen tropical forests with four-tiered structures.
  • Semi-deciduous forests: inland forests where trees drop their leaves in the dry season.
  • Atlantic Dry Forests: one of the furthest inland, this forest is a border between the cerrado and the caatinga shrublands. Tropical climate with five dry months.
  • Campo rupestre: high altitude shrubby grasslands.

Chart showing where the Atlantic Forest ranks among the world's largest rainforests in 2020.

FOREST LOSS OF THE MATA ATLÂNTICA

To date less than 7 percent of the Mata Atlântica remains, and only 3 percent of the forest that once lined the entirety of Brazil's coast survives. Forest cover is better in other countries: in Argentina 48 percent of Mata Atlântica forests survive while 13 percent of Paraguay's forests still stand. However, both countries' forests face large threats.

Destruction of the Mata Atlântica began in the 1500s when the Portuguese first arrived on Brazil's shores. Wood exportation, especially of the valuable (and now nearly vanished) Brazil wood, began immediately, as did deforestation for cattle ranching and sugar plantations.

The area became the economic heart of Brazil by the nineteenth century producing timber, coffee, beef, sugar, charcoal, and firewood. In the twentieth century eucalyptus plantations took over vast areas of forest, making Brazil a top producer of wood pulp.

In Argentina where a sizable portion of the Mata Atlântica remains, clearing for yerba mate and tobacco plantations, pulp and paper, and logging continues to take its toll. Impoverished landless peasants are also moving into the area. Paraguay's Mata Atlântica forests are suffering much the same fate.

CURRENT THREATS TO THE MATA ATLÂNTICA

Today's threats to the Mata Atlântica are many and varied. Since the forest extends across four countries and encompasses a wide-variety of forest types, different areas have very different threats.

Clearing forests for agriculture—both industrial and small-scale—remains one of the largest causes for deforestation. Big crops in the region remain coffee and sugar. Vast forests have also been cleared for cattle ranching and eucalyptus plantations. In some areas forests are still cut for timber. In Argentina clearcutting for yerba mate and tobacco are a problem.

Urban sprawl from some of the world's largest metro areas continues to destroy pockets of the Mata Atlântica. Proximity to large urban areas also poses pollution problems. Outside of urban areas, rural towns and crops are expanding as well.

For species within surviving forest fragments, hunting and poaching is a problem in some areas. Poverty is a problem in many parts of the Mata Atlântica and people, desperate both for food and fuel, are exploiting the small pockets of forest.

The size of forest pockets and the distance between them worries many ecologists, as the forests are likely victims of edge-effects. In a changing climate, small pockets of forests will have less resiliency than larger stands to warmer temperatures.

Between 2005-2008, 102,938 hectares of the Mata Atlântica were destroyed, averaging 34,121 hectares per year (down slightly from an average of 34, 965 between 2000-2005). The most extensive losses occurred in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerias, Santa Catarina, and Bahia.

Forest loss in Brazil's Mata Atlantica according to National Space Research Institute, INPE

PROTECTED AREAS IN THE MATA ATLÂNTICA

About 23,800 square kilometers of the Atlantic Forest is under protection. This is 23.8 percent of the Mata Atlântica's remaining forest, but less than 2 percent of its historic forest range.

In Brazil there are 224 protected areas in the region, including over a 100 state and national parks. Just over 20 percent of the original Argentine Mata Atlântica is protected in some 60 areas. Paraguay's forest, however, does not have the same level of protection: less than two percent of the original area is protected in eight areas.

A few notable protected areas:

  • Serra dos Orgaos National Park lies just an hour outside of Rio de Janerio and spans 11,000 hectares (110 square kilometers). The park is home to endangered birds like the Vinaceous-breasted parrot (Amazona vinacea), the Large-billed Seed-Finch (Oryzoborus crassirostris) and the Black-fronted Piping Guan (Pipile jacutinga).
  • Poço das Antas Biological Reserve is also close to Rio de Janeria (two hours), but the reserve and adjacent private area is home to the world's only wild population of golden lion tamarins, which has become a symbol for the Mata Atlântica.
  • Chapada Diamantina National Park spans three major Brazilian ecosystems: the Mata Atlântica, the cerrado, and the caatinga shrublands. The park is also home to Brazil's highest falls.
  • Iguazu National Park protects 67,000 hectares (670 square kilometers) of Argentina's Mata Atlântica region, as well as the world famous Iguazu falls. The park has 68 species of mammals, 422 birds, 38 reptiles, and 13 amphibians.
  • San Rafael National Park covers 70,000 hectares (700 square kilometers) of the Mata Atlântica in Paraguay. Classified an Important Bird Area (IBA) by International Birdlife, the park has little infrastructure and is considered by many to be simply 'a park on paper' with numerous impact from poaching to deforestation still on-going in the park.

A typical scenario in the Atlantic Forest at the Northeastern Biodiversity Corridor, where forest remnants are surrounded by sugarcane plantations. Most of the remaining forest fragments are, on average, smaller than 100 ha. Photo credit: Adriano Gambarini

CONSERVATION INITIATIVES IN THE MATA ATLÂNTICA

Conservation awareness has come to the forefront in many parts of the Mata Atlântica; in addition there a number of new initiatives to protect remaining forests and even regrow new ones. However, the success of such projects remains to be seen. In the meantime, forest continues to be lost and species to vanish.

One initiative was established by Brazil's President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in November 2008. At the time Carlos Minc, Brazil's Environment Minister, said the government aims to restore the Atlantic forest to 20 percent of its original cover, which would require reforestation on an estimated 150,000 square kilometers—more than doubling the forest cover that survives today. It's an ambitious plan, but the proof will be in implementation.

A separate program by the Nature Conservancy is working to plant one billion trees over approximately 10,000 square kilometers in the Mata Atlântica. Donors can plant a tree for every US dollar given. So far the program has planted nearly six million trees.

The project is focusing on reforesting important watersheds in the area in order to improve their water quality. Farmers are being compensated for the amount of 'clean water' they produce byway of reforestation.

The Nature Conservancy hopes to complete the project by 2015.

 

CITATIONS:

 

The Latest Mata Atlântica News

Storing CO2 in rock: Carbon mineralization holds climate promise but needs scale-up (03 Dec 2024 16:07:43 +0000)
- Carbon mineralization is a process by which gaseous carbon dioxide reacts chemically with certain rock types and transforms into solid carbonate minerals. This natural process is an essential part of the long carbon cycle, which has helped regulate Earth’s temperature for millions of years.
- Mimicking this natural process, subsurface mineralization is a human-induced carbon storage technology, with CO₂ injected directly into in-situ basalt, peridotite and other rock types to accelerate mineralization. In 2012, Iceland’s CarbFix project first demonstrated subsurface mineralization and has stored more than 100,000 metric tons of CO₂ since then.
- Proponents say the technology is safe, verifiable and offers rapid permanent CO₂ storage, giving this sequestration method advantages over other options such as reforestation (where forests can be cut or burn) or conventional geologic storage in sedimentary basins (which requires long-term monitoring for leaks).
- Interest in subsurface carbon mineralization is growing: expanding in Iceland, with test projects in the U.S. and Oman, and others recently announced. But investment in field pilots is needed, plus regulatory and policy support, for scale-up. Unlike other geoengineering methods, this technique seems to pose few environmental problems.

How are mangrove restoration projects doing?: Interview with Tom Worthington (03 Dec 2024 14:10:03 +0000)
- A new tool aims to help managers of mangrove restoration projects track their progress and measure final outcomes against initial goals.
- The Mangrove Restoration Tracker Tool was developed by the University of Cambridge, WWF and the Global Mangrove Alliance in a bid to streamline global data on mangrove restoration projects around the world.
- Mangroves are crucial ecosystems that serve as carbon sinks and act as a buffer against coastal erosion; however, they’re threatened by deforestation as well as by the impacts of global warming.

Killer whales have found new homes in the Arctic Ocean, potentially reshaping marine ecology (03 Dec 2024 01:44:16 +0000)
- The vast ice sheets that historically kept killer whales out of the Arctic Ocean are melting as the region rapidly warms.
- Two small, genetically distinct groups of killer whales now live in the Arctic, after migrating from more southern regions of the Atlantic Ocean.
- Killer whales put pressure on the local ecosystem, including Arctic whales important to Indigenous groups.

Climate financing should come from oil and gas ‘super’ profits, study says (02 Dec 2024 20:37:32 +0000)
- Oil and gas companies have the ability to become a significant source of climate financing, a new study in Climate Policy argues.
- The study looked at oil and gas profits from 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine spiked energy prices across the globe, boosting realized companies’ earnings by 65%, or around $495 billion.
- If governments had imposed an additional 30% tax on the profits of private oil and gas companies, it would have raised $147 billion, the study said.
- Climate financing was the focus of the COP 29 climate conference, which only managed to come up with $300 billion in annual support for developing countries.

Just energy transition reports urge care in surge to reach global renewable energy goals (02 Dec 2024 19:02:49 +0000)
- Nearly 100 Indigenous representatives agreed on a first-ever document to define what a just energy transition is from an Indigenous perspective, with eleven principles to make the transition fair and equitable.
- Another report highlights approaches for fair co-ownership models and negotiations between Indigenous communities and corporations in instances where communities agree to projects on their lands.
- To meet renewable energy goals, there will need to be an increase in mining for critical minerals that power renewable energy technologies, many of which are on Indigenous lands, say analysts.
- A researcher has proposed additional solutions to meet the growing demand while respecting the principles around a just energy transition, including a framework to track mineral needs and which mines truly serve climate purposes.

Photos: The lives and forests bound to Indonesia’s nickel dreams (02 Dec 2024 17:25:25 +0000)
- Many lives are intertwined with nickel mining on Indonesia’s Halmahera Island: Indigenous peoples, mining employees, smelter workers, fishers, farmers, and health care workers.
- Indonesia, the world’s largest supplier of nickel, is on a quest for an industrial economic boom linked to the mineral, which is in high demand to make electric vehicle batteries.
- Indigenous people on Halmahera say they worry for their forests and survival of isolated tribal members, while workers at a sprawling industrial park withstand tough working conditions in a bid to materially improve their lives.
- Nickel mining in the region has led to the deforestation of 5,331 hectares (13,173 acres) of tropical forest that held 2.04 million metric tons of greenhouse gases.

Land use change impacting seven planetary boundaries, solutions urgent, say scientists (02 Dec 2024 15:51:06 +0000)
- A new scientific report lays bare the stark impacts of land-system change and land degradation on planetary health, while also offering solutions to these problems. The report was published on the eve of the 16th session of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, running Dec. 2-13 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Seven of nine planetary boundaries are now adversely impacted by unsustainable land use and other land practices, the report finds. Six of those boundaries are already transgressed, having moved beyond their safe operating space for humanity and into the high-risk zone.
- Scientists warn that the seriously degraded land use boundary, interacting with the other transgressed planetary boundaries, could result in a domino-effect that may rapidly push Earth systems past dangerous and irreversible tipping points, threatening life as we know it.
- Unsustainable agricultural practices are a leading driver of land use degradation globally, responsible for vast amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, the majority of deforestation and freshwater use. Urgent measures are needed to restore ecosystems, shift to sustainable agriculture, and prevent further degradation.

‘Trump is a disease’, says Yanomami shaman Davi Kopenawa (02 Dec 2024 14:18:44 +0000)
- In addition to being a shaman, Davi Kopenawa is a shaman and a political leader active in denouncing the gold miners who illegally invaded the Yanomami Indigenous Land, in the Brazilian Amazon.
- The Yanomami, who inhabit Brazil’s largest Indigenous Land, still face a humanitarian and health crisis, worsened by the invasion of 70,000 illegal miners. Increased under the Jair Bolsonaro government, the invasion brought diseases and contaminated rivers with mercury. 
- In this interview, Kopenawa criticizes the environmental and social impacts of administrations led by politicians such as Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump.

With Turkmenistan set to join CITES, wildlife trade regulation in Central Asia gets a boost (02 Dec 2024 13:05:17 +0000)
- Turkmenistan is set to join the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) beginning 2025.
- Home to many charismatic and widely traded species, such as the Persian leopard, snow leopard, peregrine falcon and markhor goat, this move is a step toward regulating the legal wildlife trade and preventing the illegal trade in Turkmenistan and the whole of Central Asia.
- Joining CITES also builds a country’s capacity to detect illegal wildlife trafficking, seize traded specimens, tighten national regulations, and share seizure information with other member countries.
- Conservationists say Turkmenistan joining CITES helps protect biodiversity in Central Asia by regulating wildlife trade and ensuring sustainable trophy hunting.

Namibian conservancies fight to block mining threat to rhinos (02 Dec 2024 10:50:23 +0000)
- Two Namibian community conservancies and a tourism operator have turned to the courts to block development of a tin mine.
- The conservancies say the environmental impact assessments for the open-pit mine are flawed and will disturb wildlife, including critically endangered southern black rhinos.
- In a similiar case in the //Huab Conservancy, a copper mine disturbed wildlife in the area, forcing rhino-based tourism to shut down.

Controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision threatens the country’s inland wetlands with new development, study says (02 Dec 2024 01:06:42 +0000)
- In its May 2023 decision Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Supreme Court all but gutted the nation’s Clean Water Act of 1972, only maintaining protections for large waterways and opening inland wetlands for development.
- An estimated 7 million to 36 million hectares (17 million to 90 million acres) of nontidal wetlands may have lost federal protections, according to a new analysis.
- Filling wetlands would harm downstream water quality, eliminate critical ecological habitats and elevate the risk of flooding, concerned researchers say.
- The largest wetland areas at risk in the U.S. are near the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean coasts and around the inland Great Lakes.

Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park (30 Nov 2024 19:43:41 +0000)
- Tesso Nilo National Park was created to protect one of the largest remaining tracts of lowland forest on the island of Sumatra, and as a refuge for threatened wildlife such as critically endangered Sumatran tigers and elephants.
- Despite being declared a National Park in 2004 and expanded in 2009, Tesso Nilo has experienced continued deforestation in recent years, largely driven by the proliferation of oil palm plantations.
- Satellite data show Tesso Nilo lost 78% of its old growth rainforest between 2009 and 2023.
- Preliminary data for 2024, coupled with satellite imagery, show continued forest loss this year.

In Brazil’s ‘water tank’, communities resist mining to preserve their water and livelihoods (30 Nov 2024 01:50:37 +0000)
- For more than fifteen years, traditional communities in Serro, Minas Gerais, have resisted the entry of iron ore mining on their territories.
- Serro is located in a region where several major rivers meet; the integrity of ecosystems is vital for people’s water resources and food security.
- Activists fear that, if approved, iron ore projects will not only cause irreversible socioenvironmental impacts but set a precedent for a dangerous iron ore race in Serro. Besides iron ore, the area concentrates deposits of bauxite, manganese, quartzite, and other minerals – many located next to traditional communities.
- The two companies pursuing mining in the area have had their licensing processes suspended in October 2023 after a community appeal to the Federal Court of Minas Gerais. The entities are required to carry out consultations with communities, respecting the principle of free, prior and informed consent.

Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon (29 Nov 2024 23:27:33 +0000)
- Xingu Indigenous Park and Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Territory in Brazil cover an area larger than Belgium.
- The Indigenous territories are still largely covered in primary forest, and a haven for wildlife in a region considered an agricultural powerhouse.
- Satellite data show Xingu Indigenous Park lost 15% of its primary forest cover, and Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Territory lost 8.3% of its forest cover, between 2002 and 2023.
- Indigenous groups fear proposed transportation projects will bring a fresh wave of deforestation and open up their territories to invaders.

New research maps microbial life in U.S. rivers (29 Nov 2024 21:18:06 +0000)
- With the help of the public, scientists mapped microbial life across 90% of U.S. watersheds by analyzing genetic data from approximately 100 rivers, creating the first comprehensive catalog of U.S. river microbes.
- The study identified six core microbes present in all studied rivers, and these organisms all harness sunlight for energy, highlighting a fundamental pattern in river ecosystems.
- River microbes interact significantly with pollutants, breaking down microplastics and showing increased antibiotic resistance near wastewater treatment plants, revealing how human activities affect river health.
- River size, more than latitude or carbon levels, determines which microbes are present, with communities changing predictably as rivers flow from small headwaters to larger waterways.

 

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