- Title: Chileans strive to preserve fish that endures extreme salt flat conditions
- Date: 20th November 2024
- Summary: ASCOTAN SALT FLAT, ANTOFAGASTA REGION, CHILE (NOVEMBER 1, 2024) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF FLAMINGOS FLYING OVER SALT FLAT BIRDS WALKING FLAMINGOS FEEDING IN SALT FLAT (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF SALT FLAT VARIOUS OF ORESTIAS ASCOTANENSIS FISH UNDERWATER LIFE SANTIAGO, CHILE (NOVEMBER 13, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY OF CHILE, MARCO MENDEZ, AT WORK WITH COLLEAGUE IN LABORATORY BIOLOGIST MEASURING FISH (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY OF CHILE, MARCO MENDEZ, SAYING: "How does a fish live in such an extreme environment? The Ascotan salt flat is characterized by having high solar radiation, a lot of UV light, in addition to a huge temperature variation. During the day, the water can be 25 or 26 Celsius degrees (79 Fahrenheit), and at night it freezes.” ASCOTAN SALT FLAT, ANTOFAGASTA REGION, CHILE (NOVEMBER 1, 2024) (REUTERS) HAND BREAKING FROZEN WATER VARIOUS OF FROZEN WATER SANTIAGO, CHILE (NOVEMBER 14, 2024) (REUTERS) DIRECTOR OF THE MILLENNIUM INSTITUTE, MIGUEL ALLENDE, IN LABORATORY OBSERVING FISH (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR OF MILENIO INSTITUTE CENTER FOR GENOME REGULATION, MIGUEL ALLENDE, SAYING: “With the Orestias fish, by investigating their genome, we have found a series of genes that are, so to speak, overrepresented, and these genes have to do with resisting the hostile environment in which these animals are present. For example, there are genes that allow them to withstand more ultraviolet radiation, there are genes that allow them to withstand higher concentrations of salt and heavy metals in the water, there are genes that have to do with oxygen metabolism and breathing, which are exacerbated in order to live in a place with low oxygen concentrations. Therefore, we see how these animals, in a short evolutionary time, because there are other variants of these fish that live in less inhospitable places, have taken these genes and have exacerbated them from the point of view of their function.” ASCOTAN SALT FLAT, ANTOFAGASTA REGION, CHILE (NOVEMBER 1, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ORESTIAS ASCOTANENSIS FISH VICUNA FEEDING NEAR BODY OF WATER VARIOUS OF ORESTIAS ASCOTANENSIS FISH RESIDENT, MAURICIO ANZA CRUZ, WALKING NEXT TO BODY OF WATER (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, MAURICIO ANZA CRUZ, SAYING: "Communities have neglected (the preservation) and companies have come to damage this existing (ecosystem). Today we are working in that sense to be able to recover and see how to take care of flora and fauna.” ANZA TALKING WITH PERSON (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, MAURICIO ANZA CRUZ, SAYING: "The ideal for us is not to take more water from these springs, from these wells so that the fish can survive. Because that is what causes harm, when they take the water from us, the fish start dying. The mining company, at this moment the mining company is taking the water from here.” PIPE INJECTING WATER INTO SPRING SPRING PIPE INJECTING WATER INTO SPRING SIGN MARKING SITE AS AN AREA OF ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION SANTIAGO, CHILE (NOVEMBER 13, 2024) (REUTERS) MENDEZ IN LABORATORY OBSERVING JAR (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY OF CHILE, MARCO MENDEZ, SAYING: "The company that is there, is always filling that place with water. So, there are compensatory measures, but that should never have happened. Even more so the Ascotan salt flat is one of the salt flats that are now in the (government) lithium strategy." ASCOTAN SALT FLAT, ANTOFAGASTA REGION, CHILE (NOVEMBER 1, 2024) (REUTERS) (MUTE) DRONE SHOT OF ASCOTAN SALT FLAT VARIOUS OF FLAMINGOS FEEDING SANTIAGO, CHILE (NOVEMBER 14, 2024) (REUTERS) ALLENDE IN LABORATORY WITH COLLEAGUE CHECKING BOXES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) DIRECTOR OF MILENIO INSTITUTE CENTER FOR GENOME REGULATION, MIGUEL ALLENDE, SAYING: "Chile is a unique environment, it is a unique place in the world that does not exist anywhere else. These species are only here and therefore preserving them is our responsibility as citizens, as a country. Therefore mining activity, while important from an economic point of view, must be carried out considering that this particular environment must not be lost forever.” ASCOTAN SALT FLAT, ANTOFAGASTA REGION, CHILE (NOVEMBER 1, 2024) (REUTERS) VICUNAS WALKING IN THE ALTIPLANO ANIMALS IN SPRING VARIOUS OF VOLCANO EXHALING SMOKE VARIOUS OF ORESTIAS ASCOTANENSIS FISH (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE SHOTS OF SALT FLAT
- Embargoed: 4th December 2024 10:55
- Keywords: Chile Lithium mining Salar Wildlife preservation Wildlife sciences
- Location: ASCOTAN SALT FLAT, ANTOFAGASTA REGION & SANTIAGO, CHILE
- City: ASCOTAN SALT FLAT, ANTOFAGASTA REGION & SANTIAGO, CHILE
- Country: Chile
- Topics: Environment,South America / Central America,Nature/Wildlife,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001012715112024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: At more than 3,700 meters above sea level, the “karachi” fish has adapted to extreme conditions in the dense waters of a Chilean altiplanic salt flat, where a future lithium project is expected to be developed.
Orestias Ascotanensis, the fish's scientific name, has learned to survive high concentrations of heavy metals in the water and variable salinity.
The Ascotan salt flat is characterized by having high solar irradiation, a lot of UV light, plus a huge temperature variation, that goes from 25-26 Celsius degrees (79 Fahrenheit) during the daytime and freezing waters at night, according to Marco Mendez, a professor at the University of Chile.
“By investigating their genome, we have found a series of genes that are, so to speak, overrepresented and those genes have to do with precisely resisting the hostile environment in which these animals are present,” he said the director of the Milenio Institute Center for Genome Regulation, Miguel Allende.
Inhabitants of the region complain that copper mining activity has strongly impacted the salt flat by extracting water for its operations, which has reduced the population of fish.
“The company that is there is always refilling that place with water. So, there are compensatory measures, but that (extraction) should never have happened,” said Mendez.
Ascotan is also one of the salt flats in which a private lithium exploitation project would be developed, according to a plan launched by the government, and experts believe that guarantees must be given to preserve the local ecosystem.
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