Harnessing the potential for otolith microchemistry to foster the conservation of Amazonian fishes

1. Freshwater environments host roughly half of the world’s fish diversity, much of which is concentrated in large, tropical river systems such as the Amazon. Fishes are critical to ecosystem functioning in the Amazon River basin but face increasing human threats. The basic biology of these species, and particularly migratory behaviour, remains poorly studied, in part owing to the difficulty associated with conducting tagging studies in remote tropical regions.
2. Otolith microchemistry can circumvent logistical issues and is an increasingly important tool for studying fish life histories. However, this approach is still new in the Amazon, and its potential and limitations to inform fish conservation strategies remain unclear.
3. Here, otolith microchemistry studies in the Amazon are reviewed, highlighting current possibilities, and several key factors that limit its use as a conservation tool in the Amazon are discussed. These include the dearth of spatiotemporal elemental data, poor understanding of environment–fish–otolith pathways, and insufficient funding, facilities, and equipment.
4. A research initiative is proposed to harness the potential of this technique to support conservation in the Amazon. Key aspects of the proposal include recommendations for internal and external funding, which are critical to acquiring and maintaining technical staff, cutting-edge equipment, and facilities, as well as fostering regular scientific meetings and working groups. Meetings can facilitate a systematic approach to investigating environment–otolith pathways, broadening the chemical baseline for most Amazonian tributaries, and exploring potential valuable elements.
5. These outcomes are urgently needed to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the Amazon, especially given threats such as widespread hydroelectric damming. The initiative proposed here could make otolith microchemistry an important, cost-effective tool to inform and foster conservation in the Amazon, and act as a template for other imperilled tropical river basins, such as the Mekong and the Congo.

     

Race identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici isolates obtained from tomato plants in Nova Friburgo,Brazil

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) is one of the main diseases affecting tomato plants. Three races (races 1, 2 and 3) of the...     

Potential distribution and population trends of the smalltail shark Carcharhinus porosus inferred from species distribution models and historical catch data

1. Updated distribution ranges are crucial for conservation status assessments. Comprehensive analyses combining published literature and available data on historical catches and species distribution models (SDMs) are effective tools that could improve the prediction of more realistic scenarios for some species, especially those with limited information available and facing multiple threats.
2. The present study aimed at generating an updated distribution for the smalltail shark Carcharhinus porosus, one of the most threatened and understudied shark species of the western Atlantic Ocean. Estimates of the key areas for this species conservation based on the SDMs, and trends in catch probabilities throughout its distribution range are provided.
3. Four algorithms (BIOCLIM, Domain, Mahalanobis, and Maximum Entropy) were used to model the distribution of C. porosus and calculate its habitat suitability based on marine environmental variables. To assess historical catch probability trends, we built a generalized linear model from published and grey literature data. This analysis was used to estimate catch probability as an indication of population trends.
4. SDMs suggest that the northern coast of South America (NCSA) harbours the most suitable habitats for C. porosus in the world, which was expected given its historically high catch rate in this region. In addition, there was a continuously declining catch probability trend starting in the 1970s. However, the decline was smaller for the NCSA as compared with the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern South America coast.
5. Results indicate that the NCSA should be considered the currently most important area in the world for this species conservation. Furthermore, the lack of data throughout Central and South American marine regions hampers the evaluation of extinction risk throughout its updated distribution. Thus, research in these areas is urgently required for a more comprehensive conservation status assessment.

     

Performance of four <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trichogramma</Emphasis> species (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) as biocontrol agents of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Heliothis virescens</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under various temperature regimes

Trichogramma spp. are major parasitoids of lepidopteran pest eggs, but there is large variation in efficacy toward a given pest among the numerous described Trichogramma species. It is important to select the Trichogramma species that most effectively parasitize and develop in target pest eggs for biological control. In this context, Trichogramma pretiosum, T. exiguum, T. atopovirilia and T. acacioi were studied in Heliothis virescens eggs under different thermal conditions. The parasitoids were reared at constant temperatures of 20, 25 and 30°C and tested at these respective temperatures, while parasitoids reared at 25°C were also tested at 20 and 30°C, for a total of 20 species–temperature combinations. About 30 H. virescens eggs were offered to the parasitoids for 24 h. Among the four species, parasitism rate by T. atopovirilia was highest at all temperature conditions, whereas T. acacioi had the lowest rates of parasitism at 25°C and 25/30°C. Parasitism ranged from 13.8 to 43.8% among all species–temperature combinations. Viability (emerged parasitoids) ranged from 80.8 to 98.4%, and was deemed satisfactory. The emergence rates of T. exiguum and T. acacioi were affected by temperature. Temperature also affected the sex ratio of T. exiguum at 25/30°C, whereas T. pretiosum and T. acacioi produced females predominantly independent of temperature. Overall, the parasitoid T. atopovirilia was the most efficient in parasitizing H. virescens eggs, though the levels of parasitism obtained might not ensure its successful use in biological control programs. The temperature-related differences in biological traits observed in the four Trichogramma species tested hint at the importance of making careful choices regarding climatic conditions where the parasitoid is going to be used when selecting a species for biological control programs.     

Critical disease components of common bacterial blight to effectively evaluate resistant genotypes of snap bean

Common bacterial blight (CBB) caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli (Xap) is the main bacterial disease of snap bean. The present work aimed to select snap bean genotypes that are resistant to CBB based on three components of resistance: area under the disease progress curve, latent period, and lesion diameter on pods (DL). A completely randomized two-factor factorial design with six replications was used to evaluate leaves and pods of 14 snap bean and three common bean genotypes (PI 207262, BAC-6 and A-794) with high resistance to CBB. Two Xap isolates, 1394-98 and 775-90, were used to inoculate leaves and pods. Data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics. Significant differences were observed among the evaluated genotypes for all of the components of resistance, except for DL. The snap bean UENF 1482 demonstrated good performance in two disease resistance components. For this reason, this genotype can be recommended for use in breeding programs that aim to generate snap bean genotypes resistant to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli.     

Extensive cage culture of pejerrey (Odontesthes bonariensis) in a shallow pampean lake in Argentina

Pejerrey is an important zooplanktivorous native fish of the Argentinean inland waters. It has been traditionally propagated for stocking purposes by relatively costly semi‐intensive and intensive methods. In this study, we evaluated the implementation of an extensive culture method by using floating cages in a shallow pampean lake. Four cages were installed in the Lacombe Lake and stocked with juveniles (16.24 ± 1.69 mm length) at 50 fish m^?3 density for growing until the size of 150 mm, which is considered as a suitable size for stocking. Throughout the experiment, the temperature ranged between 10 and 26 °C and the zooplankton biomass ranged between 12 and 3269 μg dw L^?1. The growth patterns in the length were similar in the four cages and directly related to the lake thermal conditions and zooplankton availability. The average final length after 315 days was 154.4 ± 8.8 mm. The survival rates ranged between 53.5% and 64.7% during the first 110 days and 11.1–25.7% at termination. Growth rate for the first 2 months was the highest documented for pejerrey culture. This simple technique offers the possibility to produce juvenile pejerrey at a low cost and provides the alternative of reinforcing the natural populations with fish already adapted to the natural environmental conditions.     

Effects of ketamine constant rate infusions on cardiac biomarkers and cardiac function in dogs

Objective

To evaluate the effects of ketamine continuous rate infusions (CRI) at two dose rates on cardiovascular function and serum creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB) and troponin I in healthy conscious dogs.

Fish reproductive activity reveals temporal variations predominating spatial heterogeneity in maintaining high functional diversity of a Neotropical reservoir

The reproductive activity of the fish assemblage in a large Neotropical reservoir was evaluated by surveying the occurrence of ichthyoplankton in response to spatial and temporal variation in environmental factors. Fish reproduction was investigated by capturing larvae along representative spatial gradients in the main body (longitudinal) and arms (lateral) of the reservoir. After identification, the captured larvae were classified into different groups according to the functional traits of their parental stock. Sampling occurred monthly at night from October to March over five reproductive periods between 2009 and 2016, using conical-cylindrical plankton nets with flowmeter. Water samples were taken simultaneously allowing the measurement of environmental factors related to reproductive activity. The relationship between the environmental factors and the functional traits was assessed using RLQ and fourth-corner analyses. An evaluation of 51,995 larvae revealed there was greater larval abundance in the lacustrine and transition zones of both longitudinal and lateral gradients. Occurrences often correlated with temporal instead of spatial gradients. Higher rainfall correlated with abundances of detritivorous and migratory species. Higher water levels correlated with higher abundances of non-native species, species without parental care, with external fecundation, and partial spawning. Dry periods, with lower water and higher dissolved oxygen, correlated with higher abundances of insectivores and sedentary species. Although the presence of a dam-free stretch of river upstream of the reservoir had a positive influence on fish larvae in the fluvial zone, the results did not show differentiation along either gradient. Thus, the composition of the functional groups of fish species that reproduce in the Itaipu Reservoir appears to be predominantly influenced by the temporal variation in environmental factors rather than the formation of spatial gradients.