Assessing the health condition profile in the freshwater fish Astyanax aeneus in Champoton River, Mexico

The use of biomarkers for monitoring aquatic environmental quality has gained considerable interest worldwide. The effects of the environmental conditions of Río Champotón, México, in the hotspot of Mesoamerica, were assessed in Astyanax aeneus, a native fish of the tropics of southwestern México. P...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of environmental biology Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 137 - 145
Main Authors Trujillo-Jiménez, Patricia, Sedeño-Díaz, Jacinto Elías, López-López, Eugenia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published India Triveni Enterprises 01.01.2014
Subjects
Animals
Astyanax aeneus
Biomarkers - metabolism
Characidae - metabolism
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental science
Female
Freshwater
Gills - metabolism
Glycogen - metabolism
Lipid Peroxidation
Liver - metabolism
Male
Mexico
Muscles - metabolism
Rivers
Mexico
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Summary:The use of biomarkers for monitoring aquatic environmental quality has gained considerable interest worldwide. The effects of the environmental conditions of Río Champotón, México, in the hotspot of Mesoamerica, were assessed in Astyanax aeneus, a native fish of the tropics of southwestern México. Pollution from agrochemical residues is a major problem in Río Champotón. Three study sites along the freshwater portion of the river were monitored in April, July, and November 2007 and February 2008. This study includes a water quality index, a set of biomarkers (hepatic glycogen levels and lipid peroxidation in liver, gills, and muscle) to assess the integrated biomarker response, and population bioindicators (gonadosomatic and hepatosomatic indices and Fulton's condition factor). Although the water quality index suggested low level of contamination in the Río Champotón, biomarkers indicated that A. aeneus is exposed to stressors that impair biological responses. The integrated biomarker response showed stress periods with higher biomarker response and recovery periods with decreasing biomarker values. The somatic indices did not indicate severe effects at the population level. This study illustrates the usefulness of lipid peroxidation evaluation in the assessment of aquatic health conditions and corroborates the suitability of A. aeneus as a sentinel species.
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ISSN:0254-8704
2394-0379