FISH PARASITES AS A POTENTIAL TOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL BIOMONITORING
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25110/arqvet.v29i1.2026-12770Palavras-chave:
Biomonitoring, Drought, Environmental stress, Fish protozoan, Freshwater fish, Trichodina sp.Resumo
Fish parasites have been widely recognized as sensitive indicators of environmental conditions, often responding more rapidly to ecological disturbances than their hosts. In this study, we evaluated parasite occurrence in freshwater fish collected before and after an extended drought in São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 150 fish specimens were collected from three distinct aquatic environments: Ibirapuera Lake (urban park), Biritiba Reservoir (drinking water supply), and a Recreational Fishing Lake (managed aquaculture system), with 63 and 87 fish, respectively, before and after the drought. Parasitological analyses were performed using fresh smears of gills and intestinal contents, as well as histopathological examination with hematoxylin–eosin and Giemsa staining. Our results showed that reduced water levels associated with drought conditions were accompanied by increased parasite prevalence, although the number of parasites on the gills decreased after the drought. Protozoan parasites, particularly Trichodina sp., were the most prevalent in fish from Ibirapuera Lake and the Recreational Fishing Lake. In contrast, fish from Biritiba Reservoir exhibited a higher occurrence of Entamoeba and other amoebae in intestinal samples following the drought. These findings suggest that parasite dynamics in freshwater fish are influenced by environmental changes associated with reduced water availability. Monitoring fish parasites may be a useful, cost-effective approach to assessing environmental stress in aquatic ecosystems.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Maria Anete Lallo, Ricardo José Teixeira, José Guilherme Xavier
Este trabalho está licenciado sob uma licença Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
