Flitting through the forest foliage, darting between branches and flawlessly negotiating their way around gargantuan tree trunks, bats have evolved exquisite adaptations to their forest homes. Although inaudible to human ears, the tropical forest canopy is abuzz every night with the tiny mammals’ echolocating calls as they pinpoint and gobble up their insect prey with […]
Damming tropical rivers not only drowns wildlife and lowland habitats, it turns ridge top forests into islands, isolating animal populations that need connections between their habitats to survive and flourish.
Deforestation, habitat loss, and fragmentation are all linked and contributing to the current biodiversity catastrophe, with hydropower being responsible for the majority of this degradation.
River damming often floods extensive low-elevation regions in lowland tropical forests, whereas formerly ridgetops frequently become isolated forest patches.
Hydropower developments should avoid flooding forests to minimise biodiversity loss and disruptions to ecosystems in Amazonian forest islands, new res..