干ばつ被害の湖、イルカの１割が１週間で死ぬ　アマゾン

【リオデジャネイロＡＦＰ＝時事】ブラジルの熱帯雨林アマゾンのテフェ湖に生息するイルカの推定１割が、記録的な干ばつと高温の影響で１週間のうちに死んだ。マミラウラ持続的開発研究所と世界自然保護基金（ＷＷＦ）が１７日、明らかにした。（写真は資料写真）
　救助隊が９月最終週にテフェ湖で、１５３頭のイルカの死骸を発見した。湖の水温は平年を７度上回る３９．１度に達していた。
　テフェ湖は干ばつに見舞われた北部アマゾナス州に位置し、テフェ川とアマゾン川の合流地点となっている。
　研究者らによると、死んでいたのはアマゾンカワイルカ１３０頭、コビトイルカ２３頭。２種とも国際自然保護連合で個体数の減少が懸念される種とされている。
　イルカのほか、魚も大量に死んでいた。
　ＷＷＦブラジルの専門家は、イルカは生息する環境の状態の「監視員」だと考えられており、イルカに起こっていることは、人間を含めた他の種に起こっていることを反映していると指摘した。
　干ばつによって、河川の水位の大幅な低下も起こっている。域内では交通や生活必需品の移送を水路に頼っており、甚大な影響がもたらされた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/10/18-15:56）

An estimated 10 percent of the dolphins in a picturesque lake in the Brazilian Amazon were killed in a week as a record drought and searing temperatures devastate the region, researchers said Tuesday.
Emergency teams found 153 dolphins dead in the last week of September in Lake Tefe, where water temperatures reached 39.1 degrees Celsius, more than seven degrees higher than the normal maximum, according to the Mamirau Institute for Sustainable Development (IDSM) and environmental group WWF-Brasil.
The lake is located in the drought-hit northern state of Amazonas, at the spot where the Tefe river empties into the Amazon, in the heart of the world's biggest rainforest.
Researchers reported 130 pink dolphins and 23 tucuxi dolphins killed. Both are listed as species with declining populations by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Huge numbers of fish have also died off, they said.
What's happening in Lake Tefe is staggering. The impact of losing these animals is enormous and affects the entire local ecosystem, said Mariana Paschoalini Frias, conservation specialist at WWF-Brasil.
Dolphins are considered 'sentinels.' They're indicators of the health of their environment. What's happening to them is reflected in other species, as well, including humans, she said in a statement.
Besides killing fish and dolphins, the drought has dramatically reduced river levels, devastating a region that relies on its labyrinth of waterways for transportation and basic needs.
The federal government has sent emergency aid to the stricken region, where normally bustling river banks have turned to eerie, dessicated landscapes dotted with stranded boats.
Experts say the Amazon dry season has been worsened this year by the El Nino warming phenomenon.
Environment Minister Marina Silva has also blamed uncontrolled climate change.
In state capital Manaus, located at the junction of the Amazon and Negro rivers, authorities reported the water level at the city's port reached its lowest level in 121 years Tuesday, hitting record low for the second straight day.
The Negro's water level stood at 13.49 meters (44 feet), the lowest since records began in 1902, port officials said.
Heavy smoke from forest fires has also engulfed Manaus in recent days, forcing the cancelation of the city's marathon last Sunday.