Deforestation impacts on river food webs: comparing tropical and temperate ecosystem responses

Deforestation and the expansion of intensive agriculture are eroding the integrity of ecosystems worldwide. Freshwater ecosystems, such as streams and rivers, are particularly vulnerable to this change because of both direct (e.g., through chemical run-off) and indirect (e.g., through deforestation of riparian zones) impacts on stream biota (e.g., invertebrates and fish). Such impacts are particularly pronounced in tropical regions where rapid transformation of rainforest to intensive agriculture (e.g., to oil palm or sugar cane plantations) is occurring.  Yet, there is very little research-based evidence of how tropical stream food webs respond to increasing land-use intensification. Furthermore, recent studies have emphasised the importance of different ecological processes operating across latitudes, suggesting knowledge on the functioning of ecosystems in the Global North is unlikely to readily transfer to ecosystems in the tropics. To overcome this problem, we require direct, comparative research from both regions to better understand the impacts of deforestation and conversion to agriculture on freshwater communities and the ecosystem services they provide. 

This project will address this challenge through leveraging an extensive global compilation of stream biodiversity data (held by the investigator team) and through the collection of new data from a dedicated fieldwork campaign in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil with Brazilian collaborators.