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Asked by to Amelia, Izzy, Sarah on 19 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
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Amelia Frizell-Armitage answered on 19 Mar 2014:
There are not only a lot of species of fish in the Amazon, there are a lot of species of plants and animals also. In fact this is true of all tropical regions – the tropics have more species than any other part of the world!
Why the tropics have so many more species is a really complicated question that scientists are still trying to work out the answer to. One of the suggested reasons are that because the tropics are hotter and wetter it is easier for species to survive here, so there are more of them because less go extinct. Other think that it is because the equator receives the most sunlight. This sunlight is converted by green plants to energy, and this energy goes into the ecosystem as animals and fish eat the plants. Therefore the more sunlight, the more energy available and the more species can survive. Another explanation is that the tropics are the largest biome in the world. A biome is an area with similar climatic conditions. Because the tropics are the biggest more species can survive together here than in a smaller area.
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Isabel Webb answered on 19 Mar 2014:
The amazon river is huge and passed through lots of different environments. This means that there is space for lots of different fish to live. Because the river runs through rainforests it washes lots of nutrients along with it – and so the river thrives full of different species. There are lots of river plants, so lots of herbivore fish can live there. Because there are lots of herbivores there can be lots of carnivore fish too!
The amazon has been around for a very very very long time, so this means lots of time for new species to evolve! It also has lots of branches into little rivers that create new habitats for new species too!
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anon answered on 20 Mar 2014:
The Amazon is very very long and it’s a dog eat dog (or fish eat fish) world out there!
Each of these fish can make use of the many aquatic plants and other fish to eat. there are also many different conditions to survive in (deep waters, shallow waters, close to the sea or at the source), each has their own specialty and this has helped them survive!
My favourite species of fish in the Amazon is of course the Piranha! These fish have evolved teeth and risen up the Amazonian food chain!
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