Causes and consequences of recent degradation of the Magdalena River basin, Colombia

Abstract

The Magdalena River in Colombia is one of the world's largest (discharge = 7100 m3 s−1) tropical rivers, hosting > 170 aquatic vertebrate species. However, concise synthesis of the current ecological and environmental status is lacking. By documenting the anthropogenic stressors impacting the river on time scales ranging from centuries to decades, we found that the river system is subject to the compounding impacts of climate change, river impoundment, invasive alien species (IAS), catchment deforestation, and water pollution. We show that the Magdalena is a woefully understudied ecosystem relative to its critical importance to Colombia's economy, culture, and biodiversity compared with other similarly sized tropical rivers. We emphasize the need for research on (1) IAS population and ecological dynamics, (2) river damming and its links with IAS and climate change, and (3) land-use changes as well as identifying sources of water pollution and strategies for mitigation.

Citation

Salgado, J., Shurin, J. B., Vélez, M. I., Link, A., Lopera-Congote, L., González-Arango, C., …de Luna, G. (2022). Causes and consequences of recent degradation of the Magdalena River basin, Colombia. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 7(6), 451-465. https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10272

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 6, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jul 26, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Deposit Date: Aug 8, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 9, 2022
• Journal: Limnology and Oceanography Letters
• Electronic ISSN: 2378-2242
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 451-465
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10272
• Keywords: Aquatic Science; Oceanography
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/9898556
• Publisher URL: https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/lol2.10272