Amazon Drought Plan Unites Science and Communities to Save River Dolphins

The Amazon Sentinel Lakes project is a collaborative effort to monitor and mitigate the impact of extreme droughts on river dolphins and riverside communities in the Amazon. Coordinated by the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, the program brings together 17 institutions and around 70 researchers.

Researchers have developed a monitoring network using weather stations, underwater sensors, and satellite imagery to track temperature, river levels, oxygen, rainfall, winds, and solar radiation in five lakes. This equipment helps identify critical conditions in advance and reduce the impacts of extreme droughts.

In 2023, a severe drought caused Lake Tefé's water temperature to reach 40.9°C, resulting in the deaths of 209 river dolphins. In response, researchers captured 17 Amazon river dolphins at Lake Amanã for testing and fitted 12 of them with satellite transmitters that record their location, water depth, and temperature.

The study published in 2025 found that extreme warming results from a combination of solar radiation, reduced water depth, weak winds, and high turbidity. To address this issue, ICMBio launched protocols for emergencies involving aquatic mammals during extreme droughts in 2025.