The emergence of pathogens on fish in an impacted estuary and the role of non‐native piranhas in a potential bacterial infectious outbreak

Abstract

As many tropical aquatic ecosystems worldwide, the Doce River estuary (DRE, southeastern Brazil) has increasingly faced multiple anthropogenic threats, including deforestation, mining, species introduction and water management. The 2015 collapse of the Fundão iron ore tailings dam severely changed water properties and increased heavy metal concentration in sediment. However, the potential synergistic effects of the observed threats on fish populations remain largely unknown. After detecting an elevated number of fin lesions in DRE fishes, we used the catfish Genidens genidens (Cuvier, 1829) to investigate whether such mutilations originated from fin‐nipping by non‐native piranha or emerged as a result of fin rot disease through bacterial infection. One third of the examined individuals had fin lesions in the DRE, whereas no conspecific exhibited such lesions in two control estuaries where piranhas are absent; lesions were restricted to the caudal fin, a region known to be targeted by fin‐nipping piranhas. Independently of the presence of fin lesion, culture of fins and livers indicated higher prevalence and variety of bacterial strains in DRE individuals than in a control area. Piranhas likely contribute to the fin lesions in DRE fishes. However, the higher prevalence and variety of bacterial pathogens as well as of liver and kidney disorders identified in fin‐healthy and mutilated fishes of the DRE suggest that the heavily metal‐polluted conditions in the DRE may be associated with the emergence of bacterial infections in fish.

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