Amazonian fish migration as a social–cultural–ecological process

Abstract

In this study, we highlight the rich perspectives and explanations of fish migration held by Indigenous groups across the Amazon. We present the aspects of Indigenous cosmological stories, drawing from our exploratory review of cultural ethnographies and grey literature, as well as the authors' own experiences. We ask, how do Amazonian peoples characterize fish migrations in story and cosmovision? We apply a movement ecology framework to present perspectives on fish migration across the Amazon. Indigenous descriptions of fishes and their movements are specific, relating to particular species, waterscape features, directions of movement and seasons; furthermore, fish migrations are important within Amazonian cosmologies, relating to broader processes of transformation and movement across space, time and worlds. Synthesis and applications. We posit that researchers and conservation practitioners can learn from Indigenous stories about fish and freshwater, and we encourage collaborations that protect biocultural riverscapes of the Amazon. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.