Climate change and agrochemicals pose lethal combo for Amazonian fish

Biologist Samara Souza has carried out an experiment with tambaqui ( Colossoma macropomum) in the Amazon .

She exposed the fish to an extreme climate change scenario and a mix of pesticides.

The combination resulted in irreparable damage to the animals’ livers and to their blood cell DNA.

In December 2019 , Spanish ecotoxicologist Andreu Rico visited the Brazilian Amazon to evaluate agrochemical levels in the bodies of water in the cities of Manaus , Belém , Santarém and Macapá .

The data made it possible to determine that concentrations of chlorpyrifos and malathion insecticides found in the rivers surrounding these cities are highly dangerous.

Once in the soil, the chemicals leach out and soon enter the rivers.

A study ranked Brazil as the world’s top user of agricultural pesticides, following a 150% growth in demand over 15 years .

Europe banned atrazine 20 years ago , and chlorpyrifos in 2020 , but Brazil continues to be the main consumer market for these products whose patents aren’t even nationally owned.

The combination of climate change impacts with the effects of these agrotoxins threaten food safety in the Amazon .