Bioaccumulation of chlorinated pesticides and PCBs in the tropical freshwater fish Hoplias malabaricus: Histopathological, physiological, and immunological findings

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Freshwater stingrays: study of epidemiologic, clinic and therapeutic aspects based on 84 envenomings in humans and some enzymatic activities of the venom

Freshwater stingrays are very common in the Parana, Paraguay, Araguaia, and Tocantins Rivers and tributaries in Brazil. This study presents the clinical aspects of 84 patients injured by freshwater stingrays. Intense pain was the most conspicuous symptom. Skin necrosis was observed in a high percentage of the victims, mostly fishermen and bathers. The initial therapeutic procedures, like immersion of the affected member in hot water were effective in the initial phases of the envenoming, especially in the control of the acute pain; however, they did not prevent skin necrosis. By SDS-PAGE, the freshwater stingray (Potamotrygon falkneri) venom extract presented a major band of approximately 12 kDa. Several other components distributed between 15 and 130 kDa were detected in the venom extract. Many components with molecular mass above 80 and 100 kDa have gelatinolytic and caseinolytic activities, respectively. Hyaluronidase activity was detected only in a component around 84 kDa in P. falkneri venom extract. Our results demonstrated that the presence of these enzymes could explain partially the local clinical pictures presented by patients wounded by freshwater stingray. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of pathogenic fungi occurrence in traumatogenic structures of freshwater fish

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Myoarchitecture and vasculature of the heart ventricle in some freshwater teleosts

The morphological characteristics of the ventricular myocardium and of coronary vascularization were studied in three freshwater teleost species, Piaractus mesopotamicus, Colossoma macropomum and Clarias gariepinus (African catfish), by correlating their ventricular shapes and swimming habits. In Piaractus mesopotamicus and Colossoma macropomum, species with highly active swimming habits, the cardiac ventricle showed a pyramidal shape and a richly vascularized myocardium consisting of an outer compact layer and inner spongy layer. In Clarias gariepinus, a less active species, we observed a saccular ventricle with a mixed myocardium and coronary arteries, in contrast to the ventricular structure of other species described in the literature.

Screening and characterization of sex-specific DNA fragments in the freshwater fish matrinch, Brycon amazonicus (Teleostei: Characiformes: Characidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Deep barcode divergence in Brazilian freshwater fishes: the case of the Sao Francisco River basin

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

DNA barcoding reveals hidden diversity in the Neotropical freshwater fish Piabina argentea (Characiformes: Characidae) from the Upper Parana Basin of Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

DNA barcodes discriminate freshwater fishes from the Paraiba do Sul River Basin, São Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The 5S rDNA family evolves through concerted and birth-and-death evolution in fish genomes: an example from freshwater stingrays

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Endoparasites new to the Neotropical freshwater turtle, Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei (Bour 1973) (Testudines, Chelidae), from central Brazil.

Information on endoparasites infecting Neotropical turtles is scarce. The present paper reports the occurrence of endoparasites in three adult individuals of Vanderhaege's Toad-Headed Turtle (Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei). The records include an undescribed nematode species in the genus Spiroxys, not previously reported for the family Chelidae, and the first South American record of a monogenetic trematode of the genus Neopolystoma.

NEW HOSTS and DISTRIBUTION RECORDS FOR NEMATODE PARASITES of FRESHWATER FISHES FROM São Paulo STATE, BRAZIL.

A study on the nematode parasites of nine species of freshwater fishes from Peixe River São Paulo, State, Brazil. was conducted. Fish were collected between February 2010 and March 2011 and the following species were found: Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus and Contracaecum sp. (larvae) in Astyanax altiparanae; Contracaecum sp. (larvae), Dioctophyma renale (larvae), Philometroides caudata, P. (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus, P. (Spirocamallanus) neocaballeroi (larvae) and P. (Spirocamallanus) saofranciscensis in Acestrorhynchus lacustris; Contracaecum sp. (larvae), Guyanema sp., Hysterothylacium sp. (larvae) and Icthyouris sp. in Cyphocharax modestus; Contracaecum sp. (larvae), Cosmoxynemoides aguirrei and Pharyngodonidae gen. sp. in C. nagelii; Dioctophyma renale (larvae), Hysterothylacium sp. (larvae) and Rhabdochona sp. in Gymnotus sylvius; Capillariidae gen. sp. in Hoplosternum littorale; Cosmoxynema vianai, Guyanema sp., Ichthyouris sp. and Travnema travnema in Steindachnerina insculpta; Contracaecum sp. (larvae), Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) rebecae (larvae) in Triportheus angulatus and Rhabdochona acuminata in Triportheus nematurus. This is first study of nematode parasites from the Peixe River, therefore all the species found are new geographical records and 19 are new host records.

Population biology of the freshwater anomuran Aegla longirostri (Aeglidae) from South Brazilian streams

This paper describes a population of Aegla longirostri from Ibicui-Mirim River, Itaara, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, evaluating the size at onset of sexual maturity, relative growth, mean size, size-frequency distribution, sex ratio, ovigerous-rate, and recruitment. Samples were collected monthly from September 1996 to August 1997. Sex, carapace length (CL), cheliped length (ChL), abdomen width (AW), and front width (FW) were recorded for each crab. A total of 586 specimens were collected (277 males, 244 females, and 65 unsexed juveniles). The smallest specimen was 1.5 mm CL and the largest male was 23.8 mm CL. The relative growth analysis and the Mature software showed that the size at onset of sexual maturity was 13.7 mm CL in males and 10.7 mm CL in females. Females were smaller than males and were more abundant in adult classes, whereas males were more representative in juvenile classes. The sex ratio did not differ from 1:1 throughout the collecting period. Recruitment was observed throughout the entire sampling period, but it was higher in the winter months (from June to August). However, ovigerous females were present in spring and summer (from January to April). This population seemed to be at equilibrium during the study period. Recently, this area has been changed because of the construction of a reservoir, and a new study is required to evaluate the present condition of this population of A. longirostri.

Comparative study on extracts from the tissue covering the stingers of freshwater (Potamotrygon falkneri) and marine (Dasyatis guttata) stingrays

Stingrays are elasmobranchs found along the seacoast and in some rivers of Brazil. Pain is the most conspicuous symptom observed in patients wounded by the bilaterally retroserrate stingers located in the tail, which are covered by glandular and integument tissues. In addition, cutaneous necrosis is commonly observed in injuries caused by freshwater stingrays. The aim of this work was to characterize and compare certain properties of tissue extracts obtained from the glandular tissues covering the stinger apparatus of Potamotrygon falkneri and Dasyatis guttata stingrays. By sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), tissue extracts have similar bands above 80kDa, but most differences were observed below this molecular mass. Lethal, dermonecrotic and myotoxic activities were detected only in P. falkneri tissue extract. Edematogenic activity was similar and dose dependent in both tissue extracts. Nociceptive activity was verified in both tissue extracts, but P. falkneri presented a two-fold higher activity than D. guttata tissue extract. No direct hemolysis, phospholipase A(2) and coagulant activities were observed in both tissue extracts. Antigenic cross-reactivity was noticed by ELISA and Western blotting, using antisera raised in rabbits. Species-specific sera reacted with several components of both tissue extracts, noticeably above 22 kDa. Both tissue extracts presented gelatinolytic, caseinolytic and fibrinogenolytic activities, which were not caused by the action of metalloproteinases. Hyaluronidase activity was detected only in P. falkneri tissue extract. Our experimental observations suggest that P. falkneri tissue extract is more toxic than D. guttata tissue extract. These results may explain why injuries caused by freshwater stingrays are more severe in human accidents. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary data on the feeding habits of the freshwater stingrays Potamotrygon falkneri and Potamotrygon motoro (Potamotrygonidae) from the Upper Paraná River basin, Brazil

As raias da família Potamotrygonidae representam um grupo singular da ictiofauna Neotropical. Apesar de serem antigos os relatos sobre o grupo, ainda são muitas as questões que permanecem sem resposta, sobretudo no que diz respeito à biologia das espécies que ocorrem na Bacia do Paraná-Paraguai. No presente trabalho foi analisada a dieta de Potamotrygon falkneri e Potamotrygon motoro, capturadas no Alto Rio Paraná, a jusante da Usina Hidrelétrica Engenheiro Souza Dias (UHE Jupiá). As duas espécies de raias apresentaram dieta diversificada, ingerindo 14 itens, entre moluscos, crustáceos, insetos e peixes, porém com predominância de insetos aquáticos em diversidade e abundância. Somente um indivíduo de cada espécie ingeriu peixe. Potamotrygon motoro consumiu principalmente Ephemeroptera, enquanto P. falkneri, principalmente Mollusca, Hemiptera e Trichoptera. Os dados aparentemente indicam uma dieta mais especializada de P. motoro, com maior consumo de Ephemeroptera (Baetidae), e uma dieta mais generalizada de P. falkneri. A análise dos indivíduos capturados em três micro-hábitats, que diferem quanto ao tipo de substrato e presença de vegetação marginal, sugere diferenças nos tipos de alimentos consumidos.