Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Mar 23;31(1):e019221.
doi: 10.1590/S1984-29612022013. eCollection 2022.

Parasites and diet of Serrasalmus maculatus in a hydroelectric reservoir in Brazil

Bianca da Silva Miguel  1 , Lidiane Franceschini  2 , Letícia de Oliveira Manoel  1 , Bruna Caroline Kotz Kliemann  1 , Rosilene Luciana Delariva  3 , Igor Paiva Ramos  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Parasites and diet of Serrasalmus maculatus in a hydroelectric reservoir in Brazil

Bianca da Silva Miguel et al. Rev Bras Parasitol Vet. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Serrasalmus maculatus is a species of piranha which, despite being abundant in a reservoir environment, has few studies related to its parasitological and diet aspects. Thus, we aimed to document the parasitic fauna and diet of the S. maculatus in a hydroelectric reservoir in Brazil. In addition, we perform two literature reviews for the Neotropical region, recording the parasitic fauna already associated with S. maculatus and the occurrence of parasite genera identified in this study parasitizing Characiformes from other aquatic systems. Thirty-one hosts were collected with gillnets, from August 2014 to September 2016. Serrasalmus maculatus had a piscivorous feeding habit and a low richness parasitic component community, including two taxa of monogeneans, Anacanthorus lepyrophallus and Mymarothecium sp.; no endohelminths were observed. Data from the literature review, together with the findings of the study, showed that S. maculatus in the Neotropical region harbors 25 helminth taxa, with the monogenean being the most prevalent parasitic group and Brazil is the country with the most reports of the parasitic genera. These findings provide information on the relationships between diet, social behavior, and parasitic fauna of S. maculatus and on the patterns of distribution and infection of the observed parasite rates.

Serrasalmus maculatus é uma espécie de piranha que, a despeito de ser abundante em ambiente de reservatório, possui poucas informações sobre seus aspectos parasitológicos e dieta. Assim, o presente estudo objetivou documentar a fauna parasitária e a dieta de S. maculatus em um reservatório brasileiro. Além disso, foram realizadas duas revisões literárias para a região Neotropical, registrando a fauna parasitária, já associada a S. maculatus e a ocorrência dos gêneros parasitários identificados neste estudo, registrados em outros peixes Characiformes em outros sistemas aquáticos. Foram coletados 31 hospedeiros com redes de espera entre agosto de 2014 e setembro de 2016. Serrasalmus maculatus apresentou hábito alimentar piscívoro e comunidade componente parasitária com baixa riqueza, incluindo dois táxons de monogenéticos, Anacanthorus lepyrophallus e Mymarothecium sp.; não foram observados endohelmintos. Dados da revisão da literatura, juntamente com os achados deste estudo, mostraram que S. maculatus, na região Neotropical, abriga 25 táxons de helmintos, sendo monogenéticos o grupo de parasitos mais prevalente, e o Brasil o país com mais relatos de parasitos. Estes resultados fornecem informações sobre as relações entre dieta, o comportamento social e a fauna parasitária de S. maculatus e sobre os padrões de distribuição e infecção das taxas de parasitos observadas.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Study area on Ilha Solteira hydroelectric reservoir, Upper Paraná River basin, São Paulo state, Brazil (Campos et al., 2020).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Taxonomic distribution of parasitic fauna reported from the piranha Serrasalmus maculatus in Neotropical region.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Species richness of parasites reported in Serrasalmus maculatus from Neotropical region, according with their site of infection.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Monogeneans belonging to Anacanthorus and Mymarothecium (Dactylogyridae) reported from Neotropical characiform fishes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Agostinho AA, Júlio HF, Júnior, Borghetti JR. Considerações sobre os impactos dos represamentos na ictiofauna e medidas para sua atenuação. Um estudo de caso: reservatório de Itaipu. Rev Unimar. 1992;14(Suppl):89–107.
    1. Agostinho AA, Pelicice FM, Gomes LC. Dams and the fish fauna of the Neotropical region: impacts and management related to diversity and fisheries. Braz J Biol. 2008;68(4) Suppl:1119–1132. doi: 10.1590/S1519-69842008000500019. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Agostinho AA, Pelicice FM, Petry AC, Gomes LC, Júlio HF., Jr Fish diversity in the upper Paraná River basin: habitats, fisheries, management and conservation. Aquat Ecosyst Health Manage. 2007;10(2):174–186. doi: 10.1080/14634980701341719. - DOI
    1. Agostinho CS, Hahn NS, Marques EE. Patterns of food resource use by two congeneric species of piranhas (Serrasalmus) on the Upper Paraná River floodplain. Braz J Biol. 2003;63(2):177–182. doi: 10.1590/S1519-69842003000200002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Agostinho CS, Marques EE. Selection of netted prey by piranhas, Serrasalmus spilopleura and S. marginatus (Pisces, Serrasalmidae) Acta Sci Biol Sci. 2001;23(2):461–464.