New Guinea Rivers & Streams - A Global Ecoregion
New Guinea, second largest island, with rain for most of the year
Snapshot: Ecoregion 165
Size:
458,000 sq. km (183,000 sq. miles)
Habitat type:
Small Rivers
Geographic Location:
Southeast Asia: Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
Conservation Status:
Relatively Stable/Intact
Quiz Time!
What are archerfish known for?
Answer:
These fish are noted for their ability to knock down insects from overhanging vegetation with squirts of water they shoot from their mouths!
Answer:
These fish are noted for their ability to knock down insects from overhanging vegetation with squirts of water they shoot from their mouths!
About the Area
New Guinea's central highlands divide the island into two faunal provinces, with the southern rivers containing the greater share of diversity.
For example, within the enormous southward-flowing Fly River alone, there are over 100 fish species, representing 33 families.The ecoregion is known for distinctive island freshwater fauna with high endemism and unusual adaptive radiations. It also shares with Australia a diverse freshwater crab fauna of the family Parathelphusidae.
Local Species
The diverse assemblage of spectacular forms found in New Guinea's freshwaters include sharks, sawfish, and large saltwater crocodiles. Imperiled endemic fish species include Oktedi rainbowfish (Melanotaenia oktediensis) and Glass blue-eye (Kiunga ballochi).
Multiple freshwater turtle species are also in danger and include the Fly River turtle (Carettochelys insculpta), two snake-necked turtles (Chelodina parkeri, C. pritchardi), and two soft-shelled turtles (Pelochelys bibroni, P. cantorii). Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) and certain other aquatic species are of great economic importance as commercial food sources.
Threats
Deforestation as a result of commercial agriculture and industrial logging, which leads to increased erosion and altered hydrologic regimes, poses one of the most significant threats.
Road building in association with logging has opened up new lands to shifting agriculture. Pollution from mining, industrial logging, agricultural processing, and urban sewage is a serious problem.
Exotics such as Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambica) and Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), whose population is growing rapidly, place additional stresses; overfishing for both for subsistence use and the commercial trade, threatens native species.
Additionally, wildlife trade threatens reptiles such as the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) - heavily hunted in the Sepik River region and elsewhere for its skins and live export.
Resources
• NationalGeographic.com
