Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Specimens of Dekeiseria amazonica Rapp Py-Daniel, 1985 and Hypostomus oculeus (Fowler, 1943) captured from July 2015 to December 2016, in the Catalão Lake complex, Iranduba, Amazonas, were studied. The specimens of D. amazonica measured 12 – 16.5 (13.70 ± 1.33) and weight (g) 29 – 59 (40.85 ± 9.78) and H. oculeus 12 – 21 (15.80 ± 2.13) and weight (g) 75 - 125.40 (101.11 ± 14.28). Both species were parasitized by the acanthocephalan Gorytocephalus elongorchis Thatcher, 1979 (Neoechinorhynchidae), parasitizing the intestine, with a prevalence of 55% and abundance of 18.  The intensity ranged from 1 to 3 parasites and the average intensity was 1.63 parasites per fish for D. amazonica, and prevalence 59.25%, abundance 29. The intensity of 1 to 4, mean intensity 1.81 for H. oculeus. Two new hosts for G. elongorchis are recorded and their specificity for fish of the Loricariidae is highlighted. This is the first record of G. elongorchis parasitizing D. amazonica and H. oculeus.

The aim of the study was to describe the worldwide distribution of the bio-larval fish species of the genus Gambusia Poey, 1854 as a bio-monitor of environmental pollution. The Google Scholar database was selected, where the search equation was: "Gambusia", "bioindicator", "biomonitoring of environmental pollution”, and "heavy metals". The search was analyzed by relevance during the last 20 years and corresponded to the period 2001-2021. The selection of articles was classified as research. A grouping of studies was established in three intervals of years: 2001-2007, 2008-2013 and 2014-2021. The search results cited 295 studies. However, when reviewing each of the scientific publications, only 11 made references to four species: G. affinis (Baird & Girard, 1853), G. holbrooki (Girard, 1859), G. punctata (Poey, 1854), and G. sexradiata (Hubbs, 1936). The highest percentage of use to bio-indicate exposure to heavy metals corresponded to the period 2014-2021 with five studies (45.45%) where G. affinis was the most used species: seven times (63.64%). It is concluded that the fish of the genus Gambusia as an indicator of contamination by heavy metals have a geographical distribution worldwide, except in Antarctica and G. affinis is the one that shows the highest number of reports. In recent years (2014-2021), there has been a greater number of studies and the condition of environmental bioindicator can be assessed together with its purpose as a bioregulatory species.

Reports of filarial nematodes in wild birds are scarce in South America, particularly in the Amazon region. We analyzed the organs in the thoracic and abdominal cavities of 34 wild birds belonging to 12 different species of the order Passeriformes in the Periurban areas of Para State. Adult filariae was observed in 3/34 (9%) birds, located in the abdominal cavity of hosts. The morphological and morphometric characteristics of the filarial nematodes were consistent with the taxonomic classification of Aproctella stoddardi Cram, 1931, making this the first report of this species in the Amazon region in northern Brazil. Due to the observed migration of other genera of filariae, Aproctella Cram, 1931 may have the ability to infection at other sites, such as the liver, heart, lung, and brain. In addition, it is necessary to expand the records of the presence of filariae in birds of the region to elucidate the factors that influence this infection.

Within the oxiuros, the genus Parapharyngodon is characterized by parasitizing mainly reptiles. In Argentina, up to now four species of Parapharyngodon spp. have been mentioned; Parapharyngodon sanjuanensis Ramallo, Bursey, Castillo & Acosta, 2016, Parapharyngodon riojensis Ramallo, Bursey & Goldberg, 2002, Parapharyngodon bainae Pereira, Sousa & Lima, 2011 and Parapharyngodon sceleratus Freitas, 1957. We mention the first record of the nematode P. sanjuanensis in the lizard Phymaturus cf. Palluma Molina, 1782 in the locality of Laguna Blanca, San Juan province, Argentina. Two male specimens of P. cf. palluma were analyzed. 65 nematodes P. sanjuanensis (2 males and 63 females) were recorded, with mean intensity of 32.5 and prevalence of 100%. Morphometric data for males and females are provided. The genus Phymaturus are the reptiles with the highest parasitic intensities of reptiles in Argentina. This is probably associated with its herbivorous diet and limited range of action. We mention a new parasite-host interaction, expanding the geographic distribution of the parasite.

Interface areas between urban and sylvatic environments increase the contact between humans and wild animals, and may favour the transmission of zoonoses. The aim of this study was to describe the helminth fauna of a small mammal community in an urban-sylvatic interface area of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Twenty helminth species were recovered in six species of small mammals. Parasite sharing was observed in two helminth species among the marsupials. This study is the first report of a helminth infection for the marsupial Monodelphis americana (Müller, 1776). This is the first report of the nematodes Aspidodera raillieti Travassos, 1913, Viannaia hamata Travassos, 1914 and Trichuris sp. parasitizing the marsupial Marmosa paraguayana (Tate, 1931). None of the helminth species found has been reported to infect humans.

Argulus yawewitus n. sp. is described from pirarucu, Arapaima gigas (Shinz, 1822) from a fish farm in Northeast Brazil. The characteristics that distinguish it from other species are shape of the carapace, abdomen, respiratory areas, the ornamentation and morphology of the antena and antennule, the sexual dimorphism that distinguishes female from male, and the flag-like protrusions on the male’s second and third pair of legs.

Tail autotomy acts as anti-predatory mechanism in a great diversity of lizard species. Research links tail loss with various aspects of lizard life history. However, parasitic aspects are not taken into consideration, despite being a variable that greatly influences reptile ecology. For the first time, it is proposed that the existence of a relationship between the caudal autotomy of a lizard species is related to its parasitic condition. We studied 30 adult specimens of Liolaemus darwinii Bell, 1843 in the desert of Monte, San Juan province, Argentina. Autotomy was used as a direct measure of predator-prey interaction. A series of variables were analyzed that could be related to tail autotomy. The following variables were studied using generalized linear models: sex, environments (disturbed vs. conserved), condition (parasitized vs. not parasitized), parasitic intensity, weights (g) and snout-vent length (Lhc). The dependent variable (presence of tail: 1, absence of tail: 0) was adjusted to a binomial distribution, whose link function is logit (logistic regression). Only the variable parasitized vs. non-parasitized condition was significantly associated with tail autotomy. Parasitized individuals all have cut tails or in some stage of regeneration. Individuals that were not parasitized had complete tails (intact). The results establish for the first time a relationship between parasitism and tail loss in L. darwinii. The results are discussed in a behavioral ecological context and physiological resource allocation. In addition, our work is an approach to understanding the role of parasites in the ecology of L. darwinii in the Monte desert in Argentina.

A single specimen of Belostoma sp., a hemipteran belostomatid insect from the interior of the city of Bocaina do Sul, state of Santa Catarina, was brought to the Laboratory of Parasitology and Zoology of Universidade do Planalto Catarinense (UNIPLAC), Brazil. The hemipteran examined was infested with two specimens of Temnocephala curvicirri Amato & Amato, 2005, found on the ventral surface of Belostoma sp. between the second and third locomotor pair of the insect. Externally, the light colored helminth is characterized by the presence of an adhesive disk with a fingerlike appearance. The temnocephalid was identified by its extremely long and curved cirrus. This is the first report of the presence of T. curvicirri in Santa Catarina.

Since the appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic, teachers are updating the school activities of the courses with the support of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The aim of this mixed research is to analyze the students' perceptions about the use of technology in the Clinical Method course considering data science (machine learning) through linear regression and decision tree techniques. The participants are 77 students from the Faculty of Psychology who took the Clinical Method course at the National Autonomous University of Mexico during the 2020 school year. The results of the machine learning technique indicate that the use of Zoom, Moodle, audios and Padlet during the educational process about observation and inquiry in Clinical Psychology positively influence the assimilation of knowledge and motivation of the students. Likewise, data science identifies 8 predictive models about the use of these technological tools in the educational process through the decision tree technique. In conclusion, ICTs allow the construction of new educational spaces that facilitate the learning process from anywhere, allow the active participation of the students at any time and satisfy the educational demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Along with the spread of Web 2.0 technologies, individuals' habits such as learning, socializing, and getting information have changed rapidly. A lot of information, the accuracy of which cannot be trusted, is available in the web, and it becomes difficult to choose useful, relevant, and accurate information. This pollution is also present in the media. The abilities to choose messages in the media, to look at these messages critically, and to produce your own messages are considered among the 21st-century skills. These reasons bring media literacy (ML) and online information searching strategies (OISS) to the agenda. The processes of ML and OISS have interrelated features. Therefore, it is important and necessary to examine these concepts together. Based on this necessity, the aim of the study was to determine the role of ML in OISS. To this end, the data were collected from 1809 pre-service teachers using the OISS inventory and the ML level determination scale. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, MANOVA, and multiple regression analysis. According to the results, pre-service teachers' ML and OISS levels were above the moderate level. ML and OISS vary significantly according to the type of websites. In conclusion, ML was revealed as a predictor variable that could explain OISS at a rate of 33.2%.