Lesley de Souza from Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium has been researching the giant arapaima (with a befitting scientific name of Arapaima gigas) in and around Rewa for the past few years. South America’s largest freshwater fish, the arapaima (AIR-uh-PYE-muh), is in danger of disappearing before we know enough about it to save it.
de Souza’s fieldwork in the remote Rupununi wetlands of Guyana is a first-of-its-kind study of the migratory patterns of arapaimas. By learning where these fish live, both in the dry season and in the rainy season, and when they move into flooded grasslands and forests, she can contribute to a conservation management plan to protect their feeding and breeding habitats.

Read more at NEWSWATCH on the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC website.