diff --git a/pkgs/development/r-modules/default.nix b/pkgs/development/r-modules/default.nix
index 583b2bf4c3b5..3de5d13e9c92 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/r-modules/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/r-modules/default.nix
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ let
     ModelMetrics = lib.optional stdenv.isDarwin pkgs.llvmPackages.openmp;
     mvabund = [ pkgs.gsl ];
     mwaved = [ pkgs.fftw.dev ];
-    mzR = with pkgs; [ zlib boost159.dev netcdf ];
+    mzR = with pkgs; [ zlib netcdf ];
     ncdf4 = [ pkgs.netcdf ];
     nloptr = with pkgs; [ nlopt pkg-config libiconv ];
     n1qn1 = [ pkgs.gfortran ];