Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) was created in 1990 to rapidly provide biological information needed to catalyze the conservation of critically endangered habitats worldwide. RAP teams of 15-20 expert scientists conduct rapid 3-4 week surveys of animals and plants in terrestrial (RAP), freshwater aquatic (AquaRAP), and marine ecosystems (MarineRAP). The South American AquaRAP program is managed by Conservation International (Washington, D.C., USA) and The Field Museum (Chicago, IL, USA) and aims to identify conservation priorities and sustainable management opportunities in freshwater ecosystems in Latin America.