Suspected natural lysosomal storage disease from ingestion of pink morning glory (Ipomoea carnea) in goats in northern Argentina

This study describes an occurrence of pink morning glory (Ipomoea carnea) intoxication in goats in northern Argentina. The clinical signs displayed by the affected animals were ataxia, lethargy, emaciation, hypertonia of the neck muscles, spastic paresis in the hind legs, abnormal postural reactions and death. The clinico-pathologic examination revealed that the affected animals were anemic and their serum level of aspartate aminotransferase was significantly increased. Cytoplasmic vacuolation in the Purkinje cells and pancreatic acinar cells was observed by histological examination. The neuronal lectin binding pattern showed a strong positive reaction to WGA (Triticum vulgaris), sWGA (succinylated T. vulgaris) and LCA (Lens culinaris). Although I. carnea is common in tropical regions, this is the first report of spontaneous poisoning in goats in Argentina.     

Dam cascade in run-of-river systems promotes homogenisation of fish functional traits in a plateau river

Impoundments caused by dams are often responsible for intense changes in physical, chemical, geomorphological and hydrological characteristics of rivers, and are one of the main causes in global freshwater biodiversity declines. When these changes derive from multiple cascading dams, the cumulative effect can amplify, causing more pronounced consequences than each individual reservoir, which may affect, among other factors, the biotic and functional conditions of fish fauna. We aim to evaluate the impact of dam cascades on fish functional diversity by applying trait-based analysis. We evaluate the functional attributes (functional indices and community-weighted means of trait values) and environmental variables at 11 sites, which encompassed different segments affected by the hydroelectric plants (transition, reservoir, reduced discharge section and tributary) in the Antas River Basin dam cascade system located in southern Brazil. The spatial differences of the functional indices (richness, evenness, divergence, dispersion and diversity) as well as the weighted averages of each functional trait were tested through analysis of variance. The most affected functional characteristics were those related to habitat exploration by detritivorous species, especially the use of food resources and body shape, as well as the type of swimming movement. These traits were more representative at the most downstream site of the complex. Thus, our results suggest that the cascade of dams acts in the functional homogenisation of the ichthyofauna in the intermediate stretches, mainly reflecting physical changes in habitat.