But rising demand for clean electricity in burgeoning tropical cities, and new roads to areas once considered impossible to access, has led to plans for over 450 dams for the three mega-diverse river basins.
A recent boom in hydroelectric development in the world's most diverse tropical river basins is currently threatening aquatic biodiversity on an unprecedented scale.
The proposed hypothesis can explain the widespread presence of As in areas as diverse as the Indus Ganges Brahmaputra basin (Himalayan orogen), the Chaco-Pampean basin (Andean orogen), Rocky mountain basin (Western Cordilleran orogen), New England and northeastern USA (the Applachian orogen).
Coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific constitute the center of diversity for marine fishes, whereas continental freshwater fishes are most diverse in large river basins of tropical rainforests, especially the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong basins.
The peoples of the basin are diverse.
The researchers said this evolution of body types and increased speeds can be predicted by the constructal theory, a theory of natural design developed by Bejan that explains such diverse phenomena as river basin formation and basis of animal locomotion.
Futhermore, the researchers said, this pattern of growth can be predicted by the constructal theory, a Duke-inspired theory of design in nature that explains such diverse phenomena as river basin formation and the capillary structure of tree branches and roots.
The model enhancements were tested on five geologically and climatically diverse watersheds in the Lake Tahoe basin, USA.
Each flood was decomposed as successive stages – each of which being characterized by a sediment rating curve – and used to quantify the contribution of diverse sediment sources within the basin.
The NSW government's 2012 draft strategic land use plan described the basin as "a diverse and varied landscape including some of the most fertile soils in Australia in the Liverpool plains, the largest extent of woodland/forest in the NSW wheat-sheep belt and the Pilliga forest which is the largest temperate forest in inland NSW".
