Bactris glaucescens

General threats to the habitat in which this species occurs include: a growing agricultural frontier, increased colonization, the creation of many new highways and future roads which will cross an area of the Southwest Amazon Basin with low population density, indigenous lands, protected areas and well-conserved forests and savannas high in biodiversity; massive modification of the Rio Paraguay and Paraná rivers and the implementation of gas pipelines. Other pressures include cattle ranching, hunting, species collection, introducing exotic species, frequent burning of the savannas, gold mining, and dam construction (WWF 2001, Conservation International 2009).

This species is the most important food item in the diet of the pacu fish (Piaractus mesopotamicus, Characidae). Large pacus are especially important in dispersing the seeds and since the best seed dispersers are the largest fishes, which are preferred by commercial fisheries, it is predicted that the ongoing over-fishing in freshwater ecosystems will have major impacts on the dispersal system of these fish-dependent plants (Galetti et al. 2008).

This species is present in the Noel Kempff Mercado National Park in Bolivia. It is not listed on CITES and seeds from this species are not present in the Millennium Seed Bank, UK. There is no evidence of the conservation status being previously assessed. Close monitoring of the pacu fish populations is needed as well as further monitoring of recruitment of this species, which could be severely affected if pacu fish populations continue to decline.