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Alves-Nunes JM, Fellone A, Sazima I, Vuolo Marques OA. Overcoming the phantoms of the past: Influence of predatory stimuli on the antipredator behavior of island pitvipers. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0288826. [PMID: 37874791 PMCID: PMC10597524 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The reduction of predation is a potentially important factor for the evolution of the traits of an island animal species. By relaxed selection, insular animals tend to lose their antipredator behaviors. A monophyletic group of pitvipers (genus Bothrops) in southeastern Brazil, which have high genetic affinity and dwell on the mainland and adjacent islands, provide an appropriate setting to study the evolution of antipredator behavior and how different predatory stimuli can influence this behavior. The mainland Bothrops jararaca has several terrestrial and aerial predators, whereas B. insularis and B. alcatraz, restricted to two small islands, Queimada Grande and Alcatrazes, respectively, have a smaller range of aerial predators. Terrestrial predators are absent on Queimada Grande, but one potential snake predator occurs on Alcatrazes. We observed that the defensive repertoire of island snakes has not been lost, but they display different frequencies of some antipredator behaviors. The type of predatory stimuli (terrestrial and aerial) influenced the defensive response. Bothrops insularis most often used the escape strategies, especially against terrestrial predatory stimuli. Bothrops alcatraz displayed the highest rate of strike for both terrestrial and aerial stimuli. Our results indicate that even though relaxed selection may occur in island environments as compared to mainland environments, these pitvipers still retain their antipredator behaviors but with different response degrees to the two predator types.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Miguel Alves-Nunes
- Instituto de Biociências, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Adriano Fellone
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ivan Sazima
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Instituto de Biologia, Museu de Biodiversidade Biológica, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Otávio Augusto Vuolo Marques
- Instituto de Biociências, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade, Letras e Ciências Exatas, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Evolução, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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da Silva WRGB, de Siqueira Santos L, Lira D, de Oliveira Luna KP, Fook SML, Alves RRN. Who are the most affected by Bothrops snakebite envenoming in Brazil? A Clinical-epidemiological profile study among the regions of the country. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2023; 17:e0011708. [PMID: 37856557 PMCID: PMC10617728 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Snakebite envenoming represents an important Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) that mainly affects tropical and subtropical developing countries according to the World Health Organization (WHO). As a priority issue in the tropics, it is estimated that accidental encounter between snakes and humans is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among all NTDs in the world. In Brazil, an extremely diverse country with continental dimensions, snakebite envenoming is the second leading cause of reported human envenoming. Treating the disease has been an unprecedented challenge for Brazilian Health Systems for decades. Despite access to Antivenom therapy and distributing it free of charge across the country, Brazil faces numerous issues regarding the notification process and accurate treatment targeting for at-risk populations. Thus, this study aimed to identify the temporal epidemiological dynamics of accidents caused by Bothrops snakes in Brazil, the country's major group of venomous snakes, based on secondary information from the online database provided by The Brazilian Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN). For this purpose, reported Bothrops snakebites between 2012 and 2021 were counted, then the data were analyzed. We looked at the frequency, occurrence, mortality rates, case fatality rate (CFR), age and gender distribution, and the time lapse between the incident and the initiation of Antivenom therapy. The data were also organized considering regional variations of the country. Throughout the studied period, a total of 202,604 cases of envenoming caused by Bothrops spp. were notified, resulting in 766 fatalities. These accidents were found to occur in variable proportions across different regions in Brazil, with notable concentrations observed in the North, Northeast, and Southeast regions. The epidemiological profile of patients varied greatly between the regions, revealing that snake envenoming is much more a social, economic, and ecological problem than a medical one. In conclusion, our study provides an overview of the clinical and epidemiological profile of envenoming by Bothrops snakes in Brazil. Notably, this is the first study to present such information in a country as vast and diverse as Brazil, encompassing a comparative analysis of its regions using SINAN data, that proves to be a very useful national tool to improve the control and management of envenoming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weslley Ruan Guimarães Borges da Silva
- Department of Biology, Center of Biological and Health Sciences, Paraíba State University, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, Department of Biophysics and Pharmacology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | - Lucas de Siqueira Santos
- Graduate Program in Geodetic Sciences and Geoinformation Technologies, Department of Cartographic Engineering, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
| | - Derick Lira
- Department of Biology, Center of Biological and Health Sciences, Paraíba State University, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Department of Biology, Paraíba State University, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
| | - Karla Patrícia de Oliveira Luna
- Department of Biology, Center of Biological and Health Sciences, Paraíba State University, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Science Teaching and Mathematics Education, Department of Biology, Paraíba State University, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil
| | - Sayonara Maria Lia Fook
- Graduate Program in Public Health, Department of Pharmacy, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
| | - Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves
- Department of Biology, Center of Biological and Health Sciences, Paraíba State University, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Department of Biology, Paraíba State University, Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Ethnobiology and Nature Conservation, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
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Graboski R, Arredondo JC, Grazziotin FG, Guerra-Fuentes RA, Da Silva AAA, Prudente ALC, Pinto RR, Rodrigues MT, Bonatto SL, Zaher H. Revealing the cryptic diversity of the widespread and poorly known South American blind snake genus Amerotyphlops (Typhlopidae: Scolecophidia) through integrative taxonomy. Zool J Linn Soc 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Morphological stasis is generally associated with relative constancy in ecological pressures throughout time, producing strong stabilizing selection that retains similar shared morphology. Although climate and vegetation are commonly the main key factors driving diversity and phenotypic diversification in terrestrial vertebrates, fossorial organisms have their morphology mostly defined by their fossorial lifestyle. Among these secretive fossorial organisms, blind snakes of the South American genus Amerotyphlops are considered poorly studied when compared to other taxa. Here, we evaluate the cryptic diversity of Amerotyphlops using phylogenetic and multivariate approaches. We based our phylogenetic analysis on a molecular dataset composed of 12 gene fragments (eight nuclear and four mitochondrial) for 109 species of Typhlopidae. The multivariate analysis was implemented using 36 morphological variables for 377 specimens of Amerotyphlops. Additionally, we contrast our phylogenetic result with the morphological variation found in cranial, external and hemipenial traits. Our phylogenetic results recovered with strong support the following monophyletic groups within Amerotyphlops: (1) a clade formed by A. tasymicris and A. minuisquamus; (2) a clade composed of A. reticulatus; (3) a north-eastern Brazilian clade including A. yonenagae, A. arenensis, A. paucisquamus and A. amoipira; and (4) a clade composed of A. brongersmianus and a complex of cryptic species. Based on these results we describe four new species of Amerotyphlops from north-eastern and south-eastern Brazil, which can be distinguished from the morphologically similar species, A. brongersmianus and A. arenensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Graboski
- Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo , Avenida Nazaré, Caixa Postal 42494, CEP 04218-070, São Paulo, São Paulo , Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho , Avenida 24 A, Bela Vista, CEP 13506-900, Rio Claro, São Paulo , Brazil
- Laboratório de Herpetologia, Coordenação de Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi , Avenida Perimetral, Terra Firme, Caixa Postal 399, CEP 66077-530, Belém, Pará , Brazil
| | - Juan C Arredondo
- Colecciones Biológicas de la Universidad CES (CBUCES), Facultad de Ciencias y Biotecnología, Universidad CES , Calle 10A, Medellín , Colombia
| | - Felipe G Grazziotin
- Laboratório de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan , Avenida Vital Brasil, Butantã, São Paulo - SP, 05503-900 , Brazil
| | - Ricardo Arturo Guerra-Fuentes
- Laboratório de Herpetologia, Coordenação de Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi , Avenida Perimetral, Terra Firme, Caixa Postal 399, CEP 66077-530, Belém, Pará , Brazil
- Faculdade de Ciências Naturais, Campus Universitário do Tocantins-Cametá, Universidade Federal do Pará, Travessa Padre Antônio Franco , 2617, Bairro da Matinha, CEP 68400-000 Cametá, Pará , Brazil
| | - Ariane A A Da Silva
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Programa de Coleções e Acervos Científicos , Avenida André de Araújo, CEP 69060-000, Manaus, Amazonas , Brazil
| | - Ana L C Prudente
- Laboratório de Herpetologia, Coordenação de Zoologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi , Avenida Perimetral, Terra Firme, Caixa Postal 399, CEP 66077-530, Belém, Pará , Brazil
| | - Roberta R Pinto
- Laboratório de Diversidade de Anfíbios e Répteis, Museu de Arqueologia e Ciências Naturais da Universidade Católica de Pernambuco, Universidade Católica de Pernambuco , Recife , Brazil
| | - Miguel T Rodrigues
- Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Zoologia , Caixa Postal 11.461, CEP 05508-090, São Paulo, SP , Brazil
| | - Sandro L Bonatto
- Laboratório de Biologia Genômica e Molecular, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul , Avenida Ipiranga, CEP 90619-900, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil
| | - Hussam Zaher
- Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo , Avenida Nazaré, Caixa Postal 42494, CEP 04218-070, São Paulo, São Paulo , Brazil
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