Sprawling 5.5 million square kilometres, the Amazon rainforest is the largest of its kind and home to about one in ten of all known species. To date, at least 40,000 plants, 2,200 fish, 1,200 birds, 400 mammals, 400 amphibians, and 375 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region, not to mention nearly 2.5 million insect species.
The Amazon has existed as a dense and humid rainforest teeming with life for at least 55 million years. But in a new paper, scientists claim that over 75% of the ecosystem has been losing resilience since the early 2000s due to climate change. This process appears to be most prominent in areas that are closer to human activity, as well as in those receiving less rainfall.
