Widespread Forest Vertebrate Extinctions Induced by a Mega Hydroelectric Dam in Lowland Amazonia

摘要: Mega hydropower projects in tropical forests pose a major emergent threat to terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity worldwide. Despite the unprecedented number of existing, under-construction planned hydroelectric dams lowland forests, long-term effects on have yet be evaluated. We examine how medium large-bodied assemblages arboreal vertebrates (including 35 mammal, bird tortoise species) responded drastic 26-year post-isolation history archipelagic alteration landscape structure habitat quality reservoir Central Amazonia. The Balbina Hydroelectric Dam inundated 3,129 km2 primary simultaneously isolating 3,546 land-bridge islands. conducted intensive surveys at 37 those islands three adjacent continuous using combination four survey techniques, detected strong forest area explaining patterns vertebrate extinction. Beyond clear effects, edge-mediated surface fire disturbance was most important additional driver species loss, particularly smaller than 10 ha. Based species-area models, we predict that only 0.7% all now harbor species-rich assemblage consisting ≥80% species. highlight colossal erosion diversity driven by man-made dam show impacts mega regions been severely overlooked. geopolitical strategy deploy many more large infrastructure like Amazonia should urgently reassessed, strongly advise explicitly included pre-approval environmental impact assessments.