In a recent study, scientists in Brazil are sounding the alarm for the Williams' side-necked turtle (Phrynops williamsi), a rare species found only in Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest and neighboring Pampa grasslands. The growing hydroelectric power industry in the country poses a grave threat to these turtles, already classified as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Brazil's environmental protection agency, Ibama, estimated that approximately 11,000 blue sharks and shortfin mako sharks, which Brazil listed as endangered last month, were killed.
The fins, which were destined for Asia, where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy, were found in two locations.
First spotted in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida in the 1980s, they later spread across the Caribbean, reshuffling coral reefs and other ecosystems by feasting on fish unfamiliar with the voracious predator.
While ocean currents that flow north—such as the South Equatorial Current—and the freshwater plume created by the Amazon River hampered the spread of the invasive species, scientists predicted it was just a matter of time before it moved into Brazilian waters.
Five hundred and twenty-five kilometres from Recife on the northeastern coast of South America (or 350km from Natal as the crow flies), the minuscule specks of land of Fernando de Noronha are to Brazil what the Galapagos Islands are to Ecuador—but on the other side of the continent.
Did you say, “Bonito”? I had never heard of this place. A Brazilian diver I met in the Galapagos Islands referred to it as the capital of cave diving in Brazil, located south of the Pantanal wetlands in Mato Grosso do Sul—a state bordering Bolivia and Paraguay.
The existence of the reef have come as big surprise because many of the world’s great rivers produce major gaps in reef systems where no corals grow. There was little previous evidence because corals mostly thrive in clear, sunlit, salt water, and the equatorial waters near the mouth of the Amazon are some of the muddiest in the world, with vast quantities of sediment washed thousands of miles down the river and swept hundreds of miles out to sea.
In an article just published in the open-access science journal PloS One, the first appearance of lionfish off the Brazilian coast has been reported.
The invasion of the northwestern Atlantic by the Indo-Pacific lionfish has developed extraordinarily fast, and is expected to cause one of the most negative ecological impacts among all marine invasions. Despite the anticipation that lionfish would eventually extend their range throughout most of the eastern coast of South America, it had not been recorded in Brazil until now.
If I were to tell you about a special place where no one locks their doors at night, where crime is virtually nonexistent, where the number of tourists is intentionally restricted to preserve the ecological balance, and where each visitor must pay a daily fee of 15 Euros (approximately US$20) to protect the environment, would you think about Brazil? Probably not!
There are a few places on this planet where things seem to fall into place without any hesitation. Ilha Grande, Brazil, is one of these places. Even on busy weekends, there is a no-stress atmosphere. On the beach, in the garden hammock, or at 20 metres depth—it’s all laid back and lazy.
The Inia geoffrensis, more commonly known as the pink dolphin, is nicknamed locally as ‘Boto’ and resides in the waters of the Rio Negro. Although still poorly known, this species is considered the most intelligent of the five species of freshwater dolphins.
