The PantanalKatie Fox

LOCATION• Western Brazil• Upper Paraguay

River Basin • 140,000 to

210,000 km2

CharacteristicsWet season (October to March)

• Three meters of water form vast lakes hundreds of square kilometers in extent

• Replenish nutrients in soils

• 32C (90 F)

Dry Season (April to September)

• Water recedes and a savannah is exposed.

• Animals follow the receding waters.

• Plants enter dormant state.

• 21C (69 F)

Flora

• Home to • Papaya (Carica papaya)

• Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum)

• Pink Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia impetiginosa)

• Giant Water Lilly (Victoria amazonica)

Fauna 122 species of mammals, 93 of reptiles, and 263 of fish

Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)

Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)

Golden Dorado (Salminus brasiliensis)

Caiman (Caiman yacare)

Tufted Capuchin (Sapajus apella)

BIRDS!!! 656 of birds

• Gilded Sapphire Hummingbird (Hylocharis chrysura)

• Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco)• Savanna Hawk (Buteogallus

meridionalis)• Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus

hyacinthinus)• Yellow-faced Parrot (Alipiopsitta

xanthops)• Jabiru Stork (Jabiru mycteria)

Values• Eco-tourism• Diverse wildlife• Flood Control• Most impressive

freshwater fishery

Threats• Gold Mining: Localized

atmospheric pollution• Deforestation• Agriculture: soil erosion and

pesticides• Loss of biodiversity• Hidrovia

References• Mitsch, W. J., & Gosselink, J. G. (2007). The

Pantanal. In Wetlands (pp. 77-79). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

• Pantanal.org. (2004). Waterland Research Institute. Retrieved from The Pantanal in the 21st Centuary : http://www.pantanal.org/pantanal.htm