ABSTRACT The Amazon basin is home to one of the richest aquatic ecosystems, playing a key role in maintaining global biodiversity and ecosystem services. Despite extensive studies on fish diversity in the region, gaps remain in understanding broad processes to inform management strategies, such as the socioeconomic aspects of fisheries and the long‐term effects of environmental change on fish populations. We used topic modelling, a machine learning technique, to analyse 400 peer‐reviewed articles on Amazonian fish ecology published over the last 50 years. We identified 13 distinct topics, grouped into five main themes: Ecosystem dynamics, Evolutionary ecology, Hydrological processes, Impact assessments, and Management and Conservation. Results revealed an emphasis on Trophic ecology and Feeding dynamics, Fisheries management, and Evolutionary and Molecular ecology, which make up a large part of the literature. However, topics like Functional extinction and ecosystem consequences and Flood pulse dynamics are less represented, indicating important research gaps. Temporal analysis revealed a shift from early emphases on hydrological processes and participatory management toward contemporary priorities centered on functional ecology, trophic dynamics, and applied management. These findings offer insights for future research and underscore the need for integrated, interdisciplinary approaches to address the region's complex ecological challenges and promote evidence‐based conservation and management strategies.
Pinheiro et al. (Fri,) studied this question.