Mortalidad masiva de Canthigaster rostrata (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) en la costa del Caribe Sur de Costa Rica

Abstract

In 2017 a mass mortality event of the reef fish Canthigaster rostrata was observed on the Southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. The 86 subjects collected, possibly juveniles, were less than 49 mm and below 2.8 g. Similar events have been reported in other Caribbean locations and may be associated with changes in sea temperature or resource exhaustion during their recruitment period. Keywords:Canthigaster rostrata, mass mortality, reef fish, Caribbean, Costa Rica. RESUMENDurante el 2017, observamos un evento de mortalidad masiva del pez de arrecife Canthigaster rostrata en el Caribe Sur costarricense. Los 86 individuos recolectados, posiblemente juveniles, presentaron tallas menores a los 49 mm y pesos debajo de 2.8 g. Eventos similares se han reportado en otras localidades del Caribe y podrían asociarse a cambios en la temperatura marina o al agotamiento de recursos durante su estrategia de reclutamiento.

Saxitoxin Poisoning in Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) Linked to Scavenging on Mass Mortality of Caribbean Sharpnose Puffer Fish (Canthigaster rostrata-Tetraodontidae)

“…They are omnivorous and feed on a variety of benthic invertebrates (1). Large C. rostrata mortality events have been described in Costa Rica and other areas of the Caribbean (2,3). Similar mass mortality is described in another Canthigaster species, Bennett's sharpnose puffer (C. bennetti) (4).…”

“…Similar mass mortality is described in another Canthigaster species, Bennett's sharpnose puffer (C. bennetti) (4). These events involve juveniles of similar size and are hypothesized to result from stress, resource limitation, diseases, or other environmental factors during mass settlement events (2)(3)(4).…”

“…The cause of episodic or periodic mass mortality of C. rostrata has not been specifically defined but may be related to mass recruitment of juveniles into foraging areas, as has been reported in other tetraodontid puffers (3,4). This mortality may be part of species natural history; however, reports of mortality during mass settlement of various fishes cite other considerations in need of further study, including diseases and environmental factors (3,22).…”

Mortalidad masiva del pez tamboril Canthigaster rostrata (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) en el Caribe Sur de Costa Rica con observaciones sobre su relación con cambios ambientales marinos.

“…During the last 14 years, mass mortality events of this species have been reported throughout the Caribbean (Jordán-Garza et al, 2009;Castillo and Pérez, 2014;Gutiérrez, 2014;El Isleño, 2017;Piedra, 2017;Piedra-Castro and Araya-Vargas, 2018) (Figure 1). Possible causes of mass mortality have been hypothesized, such as: ectoparasitic copepods infections (Kirtisinghe, 1934), accumulation of paralytic toxins by dinoflagellates (Ochoa et al, 1997), disease outbreaks in populations of surgeonfish such as Ctenochaetus striatus (Stier et al, 2013) and toxicosis (Work et al, 2017).…”

Histological Observations of the Sharpnose Pufferfish, Canthigaster rostrata (Bloch, 1786), Collected Along the Caribbean Coast Affected by Mass Mortality Episodes

“…Females defend breeding territories against other females and small males; no parental care was observed (Sikkel 1990). This species has attracted attention in recent years, because of the high levels of mortality of the species found along the Mexican Caribbean coasts and in other locations at the Caribbean, such as Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia (Bolaños-Cubillos et al 2013; Piedra-Castro and Araya-Vargas 2018). The first massive mortality episode was documented in December 2008, along the northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula; a mean of 39.5 dead fish per m 2 was recorded along the shoreline, and no symptoms of pathological conditions on the skin or organs were detected, which did not indicate the cause of the mortality (Jordán-Garza et al 2009).…”