Neotrop. Helminthol., 4(1), 2010

2010 Asociación Peruana de Helmintología e Invertebrados Afines (APHIA)

ISSN: 2218-6425 impreso / ISSN: 1995-1043 on line

EDITORIAL

HELMINTH FAUNA OF FISHES FROM THE UPPER PARANÁ

RIVER FLOODPLAIN, BRAZIL

FAUNA HELMÍNTICA DE PECES DE ALTA PLANICIE DEL RÍO PARANÁ, BRASIL

1,2 1

Ricardo Massato Takemoto & Maria de los Angeles Perez Lizama

The Paraná River is formed by junction of the

Grande and Paranaíba Rivers and is the

principal river of the La Plata basin. From

source to mouth in the La Plata River estuary,

the Paraná River flows for approximately 4,695

km (Petri & Fúlfaro, 1985) and drains most of

South-Central South America. There are

several dams in the main channel and tributaries

of the Paraná River, but a floodplain still

remains with a complex of tributaries, side

channels, lakes, and marginal dikes (Stevaux,

1994; Souza Filho, 2009). This floodplain

extends to the States of Paraná and Mato Grosso

do Sul, encompassing areas of the Ilha Grande

National Park, the Ivinheima State Park and the

Environmental Protection Area (APA) of the

islands and floodplain of the Paraná River

(Figure 1).

Figure 1. Map of the Upper Paraná River floodplain located in the States of Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Universidade Estadual de Maringá.

Nupélia - Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aqüicultura Bloco G-90 - Laboratório de Ictioparasitologia

Av. Colombo, 5790 – CEP 87020-900 - Maringá, PR – Brasil. E-mail: takemotorm@nupelia.uem.br

Suggested citation: Takemoto, R.M., Lizama, M. de los A.P. 2010 . Helminth fauna of fishes from the Upper Paraná River

floodplain, Brazil fauna helmíntica de peces de Alta Planicie del Río Paraná, Brasil. Neotropical

Helminthology, vol. 4, nº 1, pp. 5-8.

Helminth fauna from upper Parana Takemoto & Lizama

Among the disturbances acting on this

floodplain, one of the most serious is the Porto

Primavera Dam that was constructed in 1998

along the border between the States of São

Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. This dam

reduced the length of the floodplain from 480 to

230 km (Agostinho et al., 2004; 2008), and

altered the seasonal flood regime. Recently, the

Upper Paraná River floodplain was

incorporated into the Biosphere Reserve of the

Atlantic Forest- MAB/UNESCO (Agostinho et

al., 2004), and this study site has been included

in the Brazilian Long-Term Ecological

Research Program since 1999 (PELD/CNPq -

Site 6).

Floods can alter the population dynamics of the

ichthyofauna, as well as their physiological and

biological conditions, thereby influencing the

structure and composition of the parasitic

fauna. In addition, chemical and physical

variables of the water such as dissolved oxygen,

temperature and turbulence can contribute to

the emergence and increase in the population of

some parasite species (Pavanelli et al., 1997).

The parasite fauna of freshwater fish may have

different compositions depending on the host

species, the level of this host in the food chain,

their age, size, sex, and other biotic and abiotic

factors. Therefore, the floodplain of the Paraná

River, characterized by a wide variety of

habitats and species (182 fish species recorded

by Pavanelli et al., 2004), favors the occurrence

of a wide variety of fish parasites.

The parasite fauna of fish from the upper Paraná

River floodplain was previously detailed by

Pavanelli et al. (1997, 2004) and recently by

Takemoto et al. (2009). Among the fish

parasites recorded in the Upper Paraná River

floodplain, helminthes have the greatest

number of species. At the moment 304 species

were recorded, including Monogenea, Digenea,

Cestoda, Nematoda and Acanthocephala.

The highest number of host-helminthes parasite

associations in the floodplain was recorded for

the fishes curimba, Prochilodus lineatus

(Valenciennes, 1837) (Prochilodontidae) and

piau, Leporinus friderici Bloch, 1794

(Anostomidae), which had 25 records each.

This result confirms the results obtained by

Takemoto et al. (2005), who found that the host

population density is the major determinant of

endoparasite species richness in the fishes of the

floodplain. Curimba and piau are abundant

species in the floodplain.

Class Monogenea presented de highest number

of species with 95 (Figure 2), including species

that parasitize the gills, nostrils, and urinary

bladder. The monogeneans are characterized by

presenting a relatively high degree of host

specificity in comparison to other groups of

parasites. The number of species recorded in

this class tends to increase in the floodplain,

since previous studies showed high species

richness in all fish species.

Of the 304 helminthes species reported in the

Upper Parana River floodplain, 40 were

described as new species. The cestodes

presented the greatest number of new species

with 20 species, followed by Monogenea with

16 new species, Digenea with three new species

and Acanthocephala with only one new species.

No new species of nematodes has been

described in the floodplain.

Figure 2. Species richness of fish helminthes parasites

according to zoological group reported in the Upper

Paraná River floodplain.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Agostinho, AA, Gomes, LC, Thomaz, SM &

Hahn, NS. 2004.

Agostinho, AA, Pelicice, FM & Gomes, LC.

2008.

Pavanelli, GC, Machado, MH & Takemoto,

RM, 1997.

Pavanelli, GC, Machado, MH, Takemoto, RM,

Guidelli, GM & Lizama, M de los AP,

2004.

Petri, S & Fúlfaro, VJ. 1985.

The upper Paraná river

and its floodplain: main characteristics

and perspectives for management and

conservation. In Thomaz,

SM, Agostinho, AA & Hahn, NS. (Eds.).

The Upper Paraná River and its

floodplain: physical aspects, ecology and

conservation. Leiden: Backhuys

Publishers.

Dams and the fish fauna of the

Neotropical region: impacts and

management related to diversity and

fisheries. Brazilian Journal of Biology,

vol. 68, pp. 1119-1132.

Fauna helmíntica de peixes do

rio Paraná, região de Porto Rico,

Paraná. In Vazzoler,

AEAM, Agostinho, AA & Hahn, NS

(Eds.). A Planície de inundação do Alto

rio Paraná: aspectos físicos, biológicos e

sócioeconômicos. Maringá: Eduem.

Helminth fauna of the fishes:

diversity and ecological aspects.

In Thomaz, SM, Agostinho, AA,

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Geologia do Brasil

pp. 381-393.

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329.

Neotrop. Helminthol., 4(1), 2010

Digenea and Nematoda showed 73 and 71

species, respectively. This high number of

species is due to the fact that fish may act as

intermediate hosts harboring larval forms, or as

definitive host harboring the adult forms.

Moreover, most of the analyzed fish occupy

intermediate positions in the food chain and can

be infected in both ways.

The small fish species considered fodder, such

as Aphyocharax anisitsi Eigenmann &

Kennedy, 1903, Psellogrammus kennedyi

(Eigennann, 1903), Hemigrammus marginatus

Ellis , 1911 and M o e n k h a u s i a a f f .

sanctaefilomenae Steindachner, 1907 were

parasitized by several species of parasites in the

larval stage, showing that these fish act mainly

as intermediate hosts of several species of

helminthes, as they serve as food for other fish

species and several groups of animals, which

are considered definitive hosts, completing the

cycle of the parasites. However, these species

also harbor some species of parasites in adult

stage.

Nematodes in general have low host specificity,

mainly at the larval stage. The larva of

Contracaecum sp. was found in 17 different

species of fish. This nematode belongs to the

family Anisakidae that has great public health

significance because of its zoonotic potential.

However, no records of this zoonotic disease in

the studied region is probably due to the fact that

this parasite is located in the mesentery, which

is not used for human consumption. The

nematode Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus)

inopinatus Travassos, Artigas & Pereira, 1928)

that parasitize the fish in the adult stage, also has

low specificity and was collected in nine

different species of fish Serrasalmus

marginatus Valenciennes, 1837, S. maculatus

(Kner, 1958), Schizodon borelli (Boulenger,

1900), Hoplias aff. malabaricus (Bloch, 1794),

Metynnis lippincottianus (Cope, 1870),

Leporinus elongatus Valenciennes, 1850, L.

obtusidens Valenciennes, 1847, L. lacustris

Amaral Campos, 1945 and L. friderici Bloch,

1794.

Studies on taxonomic and systematic

approaches are important to understand how

biotic and abiotic factors affect the species,

since it is not possible to understand the effects

on population, without knowing the species.

The study of the helminth fauna of fishes from

the floodplain may be considered initial,

considering that from the 184 recorded fish

species, only 89 were examined for parasites.

This shows that many studies will be necessary

to know the entire parasite fauna.

Recibido el 18 de mayo del 2010.

Aceptado el 17 de junio Del 2010.

(Fanerozóico). São Paulo: TA. Queiroz;

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Paraná River discharge controlled by

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The upper Paraná River

(Brazil): geomorphology, sedimentology

and paleoclimatology. Quaternary

International - Journal of International

Union, vol. 21, pp. 143-162.

Diversity of parasites of fish from

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Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, vol.

69, suppl. pp. 691-705.

Host

Souza Filho, EE. 2009.

Stevaux, JC. 1994.

Takemoto, RM, Pavanelli, GC, Lizama, M de

los AP, Lacerda, ACF, Yamada, FH,

Moreira, LHA, Ceschini, TL & Bellay, S,

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Takemoto, RM, Pavanelli, GC, Lizama, M de

los AP, Luque, JL & Poulin, R, 2005.

*Correspondence to author/ Autor para correspondencia:

Ricardo M. Takemoto

E-mail/correo electrónico:

Universidade Estadual de Maringá

Nupélia - Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia,

Ictiologia e Aqüicultura

Bloco G-90 - Laboratório de Ictioparasitologia

Av. Colombo, 5790 – CEP 87020-900

Maringá, PR – Brasil

takemotorm@nupelia.uem.br

Helminth fauna from upper Parana Takemoto & Lizama

density as a major determinant of

endoparasite species richness in fishes of

floodplain of the upper Parana River,

Brazil. Journal of Helminthology, vol. 79,

7pp. 5-84.