Microplastics in the Amazon

From the bed of the Negro River to nesting sites at the mouth of the Amazon River, plastic particles are already contaminating ecosystems and wildlife across the Amazon Rainforest. In this series, Mongabay tracks this pollution through rivers, streams (igarapés), lakes and mangroves. The reporting investigates how fish like the pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) ingest microplastics and reveals emerging evidence of contamination in land animals, including tapirs, bats, monkeys and amphibians. While research is progressing, major gaps remain regarding the scale of this pollution and its impact on biodiversity and the communities that rely on these waterways.