In situ assessment of two catfish species (pisces, Ariidae) to evaluate pollution in a harbor

• Main Authors: Neta, Raimunda Nonata Fortes Carvalho, Junior, Audalio Rebelo Torres, Sousa, Débora Batista Pinheiro, de Sousa de Oliveira Mota Andrade, Ticianne, Torres, Hetty Salvino, da Silva Castro, Jonatas, da Silva de Almeida, Zafira, Santos, Débora Martins Silva, Tchaicka, Lígia
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biometrics; Biomonitoring; Catfish; Contaminants; Fish; Lesions; Populations; Weight
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4968699

A histopathological and biometric database for the catfish Sciades herzbergii and Bagre bagre from São Luís Island (Harbor area) and Caranguejos Island (reference area) in Brazil is presented. Branchial and hepatic lesions were classified into three reaction patterns: 1) circulatory or inflammatory disturbances; 2) regressive changes; 3) progressive changes. The total length (Lt), standard length (Ls), furcal length (Lf), total weight (Wt), and gonad weight (Wg) of each fish were recorded. As expected, most populations of catfish considered in this study are highly heterogeneous, with lengths and weights deviating from the reference sample. No histopathological lesions were observed in Sciades herzbergii examined at the reference site (Caranguejos Island). In contrast, 90% of the catfish S. herzbergii from sites located in the Harbor Area (São Luís Island) had one or more types of branchial and hepatic lesions. As opposed to what was observed in S. herzbergii, more than 86.33% of Bagre bagre individuals showed histopathological alterations in both areas. The utility of histopathological lesions and biometric data as sensitive indicators of the health of wild catfish populations has been demonstrated. Sciades herzbergii proved to be a better species for biomonitoring because it was able to differentiate one impacted site (Port Area/ São Luís Island) from a region relatively free of contaminants (Reference Area/ Caranguejos Island).