What major infrastructural development poses a fundamental threat to the evolutionary conditions shaped in the Xingu River?

Introduction of large hydroelectric dams

The introduction of large hydroelectric dams constitutes a fundamental and severe threat to the specialized fauna of the Xingu River. These massive constructions radically and rapidly alter the river's defining environmental characteristics that have dictated evolution over millennia. Specifically, dams fundamentally change the flow regime of the water, alter the composition and transport of sediment load, and modify the temperature profiles throughout the ecosystem. Species exquisitely adapted to the previous, more stable set of conditions may lack the necessary evolutionary plasticity or sufficient time required to adapt to these swift, human-induced changes, thereby facing a high risk of localized extinction within the basin.