May is a big birding month not only in North America, but across the world. ACA took part in some major birding activities throughout the month and we were excited to meet old and new birding friends! The Biggest Week in American Birding took place in early May, to much success. The 10-day annual festival was organized and hosted by Black Swamp […]
For two decades now, Alessandro Catenazzi, Ph.D., an assistant professor of zoology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, has been using the ACA biological stations in the Peruvian rainforest to learn more about the frog population in the region. Catenazzi and his colleagues have made several important discoveries that increase our understanding about amphibian diversity and […]
The Amazon lowlands have been connected to the Andes Mountains for millions of years by only six major rivers: the Caqueta, Madeira, Maranon, Napo, Putumayo, and Ucayali* (see Image 34a). This intimate connection allows rich Andean nutrients to fuel the Amazon floodplain and enables long-distance catfish migration between feeding grounds in the lowlands and spawning grounds in the highlands. However, one […]
In MAAP #30, we described the illegal gold mining invasion of Tambopata National Reserve, an important protected area in the southern Peruvian Amazon (department of Madre de Dios). Here in MAAP #33, we show that illegal gold mining is also altering the course of the Malinowski River, which forms the natural boundary of the Reserve. Image 33a […]
In the previous MAAP #25 and MAAP #26, we illustrated deforestation hotspots in the Peruvian Amazon for the periods 2012-2014 and 2015*, respectively. Here in MAAP #32, we present a complementary analysis based on the size of deforestation events. Graph 32a shows the comparative results of deforestation patterns between 2013 and 2015, indicating that: – Small-scale (< 5 […]
Download PDF of this article In the previous MAAP #25 and MAAP #26, we illustrated deforestation hotspots in the Peruvian Amazon for the periods 2012-2014 and 2015*, respectively. Here in MAAP #32, we present a complementary analysis based on the size of deforestation events. Graph 32a shows the comparative results of deforestation patterns between 2013 and 2015, indicating […]
In the previous MAAP #25 and MAAP #26, we illustrated deforestation hotspots in the Peruvian Amazon for the periods 2012-2014 and 2015*, respectively. Here in MAAP #32, we present a complementary analysis based on the size of deforestation events.
As described previously in MAAP #21, the illegal gold mining invasion of the Tambopata National Reserve began in late 2015. Here in MAAP #30, we confirm that this invasion continues to intensify in 2016. Image 30a shows the invasion zone, where we document that the illegal mining is advancing on seven fronts within the northwest section of the reserve […]
Illegal gold mining deforestation continues to expand in La Pampa, an area located in the buffer zone of Tambopata National Reserve in the Madre de Dios region. Here, we present a series of high-resolution (0.5 m) images that clearly illustrate this expansion. Image 31a shows the large, expanding mass of deforestation in La Pampa (as of November […]
Here in MAAP #29, we describe the Nuevo Eden-Boca Manu-Boca Colorado road project in the southern Peruvian Amazon (Madre de Dios region). The objective of this article is to show the current state of construction and quantify the direct and indirect deforestation caused thus far by the road. This is a controversial road project because it cuts […]