title: Assessing the health condition profile in the freshwater fish Astyanax aeneus in Champoton River, Mexico.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, C.P. 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Trujillo-Jiménez
authors.affiliation: Coordinación Politécnica para la Sustentabilidad, IPN, Av. Instituto Politécnico Nacional s/n, esq. Wilfrido Massieu, Col. Zacatenco, Mexico, D.F., 07738, Mexico.
authors.forename: Jacinto Elías
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sedeño-Díaz
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Ictiología y Limnología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, IPN, Prol. de Carpio y Plan de Ayala s/n, Col. Sto. Tomás, Mexico, D.F., 11340 Mexico.
authors.forename: Eugenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: López-López
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D060126:Characidae / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005880:Gills / Q000378:metabolism; D006003:Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D045483:Rivers
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006003:Glycogen