Gala Ortiz’s research while affiliated with National University of La Plata and other places

RESUMEN: En Argentina, el riesgo que los rodenticidas anticoagulantes podrían presentar para las aves ra-paces locales fue reconocido inicialmente en la década de 1980. Lamentablemente, 40 años después de esta primera señal de alarma, los rodenticidas anticoagulantes siguen siendo ampliamente utilizados en el país y en toda Sudamérica, sin haberse estudiado el problema medioambiental que estos pueden suponer. Aquí pre-sentamos una revisión práctica e integral sobre los rodenticidas anticoagulantes y la intoxicación por estos en aves rapaces. Discutimos su impacto, tanto sobre individuos como en poblaciones, como también los aspectos relacionados al manejo de animales intoxicados y a la necesidad de contar con capacidad diagnóstica en la región. La información aquí recopilada permitirá contar con contenidos relevantes, actualizados y accesibles necesarios para abordar el estudio de esta amenaza para la conservación de las aves rapaces de Argentina y de otros países de Sudamérica. Al mismo tiempo, esperamos que promueva investigaciones sobre el tema que per-mitan dar los pasos necesarios para evaluar y mitigar el riesgo que el uso de los rodenticidas anticoagulantes puede tener sobre las aves rapaces y otra fauna silvestre. ABSTRACT: In Argentina, the risk that anticoagulant rodenticides could pose to local birds of prey was initially recognized in the 1980s. Unfortunately, 40 years after this first warning sign, anticoagulant rodenticides are still widely used in the country and throughout South America, without having studied the environmental problem that these products may cause. Here we present a practical and comprehensive review on anticoagulant rodenticides and their poisoning in birds of prey. We discuss their impact, both on individuals and their populations , the main aspects related to the management of intoxicated animals, and the need for diagnostic capacity in the region. The information collected here provides relevant, up-to-date, and accessible content necessary to address the study of this threat to the conservation of birds of prey in Argentina and other South American countries.

En Argentina, el riesgo que los rodenticidas anticoagulantes podrían presentar para las aves rapaces locales fue reconocido inicialmente en la década de 1980. Lamentablemente, 40 años después de esta primera señal de alarma, los rodenticidas anticoagulantes siguen siendo ampliamente utilizados en el país y en toda Sudamérica, sin haberse estudiado el problema medioambiental que estos pueden suponer. Aquí presentamos una revisión práctica e integral sobre los rodenticidas anticoagulantes y la intoxicación por estos en aves rapaces. Discutimos su impacto, tanto sobre individuos como en sus poblaciones, como también los aspectos relacionados al manejo de animales intoxicados y a la necesidad de contar con capacidad diagnóstica en la región. La información aquí recopilada permitirá contar con contenidos relevantes, actualizados y accesibles necesarios para abordar el estudio de esta amenaza para la conservación de las aves rapaces de Argentina y de otros países de Sudamérica. Al mismo tiempo, esperamos que promueva investigaciones sobre el tema que permitan dar los pasos necesarios para evaluar y mitigar el riesgo que el uso de los rodenticidas anticoagulantes puede tener sobre las aves rapaces y otra fauna silvestre

Thousands of owls and other predators die each year globally after eating rodents that have been poisoned with anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) (1–3). In Andean Patagonia, where wilderness areas coexist with human settlements (including tourist destinations), ARs are unregulated and routinely used to prevent human contact with rodents (4, 5). This strategy puts raptors in the region at risk and may be the cause of mass mortality events. However, because testing for ARs is difficult, the extent of ARs’ effects on raptors and other wildlife remains unknown. Given their potential for harm, it is crucial to test for ARs, especially when raptor mass mortality events occur, and to enact policies that regulate their use. In Patagonia’s forests, the periodic mast seeding of bamboos triggers rapid increases in rodent populations, and owls and other predators are drawn to the affected areas due to increased prey (6, 7). Because the rodents are hosts of the zoonotic ANDV (Sur), a hantavirus lethal for humans (7), local inhabitants fear that the surge in rodents will increase hantavirus transmission. In response, people buy and use massive amounts of ARs without the supervision of any governmental or scientific authorities. At the peak of these rodent influxes, umerous dead owls and other raptors are commonly recorded (7). The cause of massive owl mortality events in Patagonia is unknown, but secondary poisoning by ARs is one likely explanation given their effects on wildlife elsewhere (1–3). Despite the possible harm caused by ARs, toxicology laboratories in Argentina do not test for them, and restrictions due to sanitation concerns prevent the exportation of fresh tissue samples to overseas toxicology labs (2). Without a way to identify ARs locally or through international collaboration, no relevant data can be collected to determine whether they are the cause of death. We urge Argentine and other South American wildlife and health authorities, and the scientific community, to strengthen local capacities to test for ARs. Evidence from both veterinary and human medicine indicates that this problem affects other nontarget subjects in addition to predators, with the same analytical limitations (5, 8). Protecting environmental, wildlife, and human health in the region requires surveillance and wellenforced regulations of AR use. REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. S. M. M. Nakayama et al., J. Vet. Med. Sci. 81, 298 (2019). 2. E. A. Gomez, S. Hindmarch, J. A. Smith, J. Rap. Res. 56, (2022). 3. J. E. Elliott et al., BioScience 66, 401 (2016). 4. “Listado de Insecticidas y Raticidas,” Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos, y Tecnología Médica (2021); www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/anmat_listado_de_insecticidas_y_raticidas_actualizado_al_20-9-21.pdf. 5. A. I. Gallardo Ferrada et al., Acta Tox. Argentina 23,44 (2015). 6. V. Ojeda, L. Chazarreta, Aust. Ecol. 43, 719 (2018). 7. R. D. Sage et al., in The Quintessential Naturalist: Honoring the Life and Legacy of Oliver P. Pearson, D. A. Kelt et al., Eds. (University of California, Berkeley, CA, 2007), pp. 177–224. 8. M. F. Lugo, Acta Tox. Argentina 27, 60 (2019).

We describe pathological aspects of an infection caused by parasitic nematodes in skeletal muscles of a Magellanic woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus), providing the first description of any disease findings in this species. A weakened female with locomotory dysfunction was rescued near Bariloche city (Argentine Patagonia), which soon died. At the necropsy, unexpected masses of tissue were located at three joints (legs and tail). A dissection of these masses exposed numerous nematodes in the musculature surrounding the joints that were identified as Hamatospiculum flagellispiculosum (Nematoda: Diplotriaenidae), a species that was not previously found in Piciformes (woodpeckers, toucans, and allies) of the Neotropical Region. In this report, we complement the original parasite description from 1952 with SEM images, and extend the species range about 2000 km southwards. Histopathological analysis (tissues sectioned 4–6 microns, stained with hematoxylin and eosin) of the affected tissues revealed parasitic myositis with muscle fibrosis. Severe muscle degeneration and necrosis, fibrous tissue replacing muscle tissue, chronic inflammation with widespread diffuse mononuclear infiltration, and parasitic content (adult roundworms, eggs, and eggs with first-stage larvae) were present in all samples. The multifocal nature of these lesions was consistent with the locomotory dysfunction exhibited by the bird. Both the immune response (mononuclear infiltration without eosinophils, which normally fight helminth colonization) and the clinical severity of this case (a lethal, multifocal macroparasite infection) are noteworthy. The expected immune response may have been suppressed through immunomodulation by the parasite, as observed for filarial parasites. Based on their demography and life history traits (i.e., long-lived picids that produce a single nestling every 1–2 years, and live in sparse populations), Magellanic Woodpeckers do not seem to be obvious hosts of an obligately killing parasite, and other (more regular) hosts should be expected to occur in the same region.

We describe pathological aspects of an infection caused by parasitic nematodes in skeletal muscles of a Magellanic woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus), providing the first description of any disease findings in this species. A weakened female with locomotory dysfunction was rescued near Bariloche city (Argentine Patagonia), which soon died. At the necropsy, unexpected masses of tissue were located at three joints (legs and tail). A dissection of these masses exposed numerous nematodes in the musculature surrounding the joints that were identified as Hamatospiculum flagellispiculosum (Nematoda: Diplotriaenidae), a species that was not previously found in Piciformes (woodpeckers, toucans, and allies) of the Neotropical Region. In this report, we complement the original parasite description from 1952 with SEM images, and extend the species range about 2000 km southwards. Histopathological analysis (tissues sectioned 4–6 microns, stained with hematoxylin and eosin) of the affected tissues revealed parasitic myositis with muscle fibrosis. Severe muscle degeneration and necrosis, fibrous tissue replacing muscle tissue, chronic inflammation with widespread diffuse mononuclear infiltration, and parasitic content (adult roundworms, eggs, and eggs with first-stage larvae) were present in all samples. The multifocal nature of these lesions was consistent with the locomotory dysfunction exhibited by the bird. Both the immune response (mononuclear infiltration without eosinophils, which normally fight helminth colonization) and the clinical severity of this case (a lethal, multifocal macroparasite infection) are noteworthy. The expected immune response may have been suppressed through immunomodulation by the parasite, as observed for filarial parasites. Based on their demography and life history traits (i.e., long-lived picids that produce a single nestling every 1–2 years, and live in sparse populations), Magellanic Woodpeckers do not seem to be obvious hosts of an obligately killing parasite, and other (more regular) hosts should be expected to occur in the same region.

Resumen. Aglaoctenus Tullgren, 1905 es un género de arañas sudamericanas perteneciente a la familia Lycosidae, del cual se conocen cinco especies. Se reporta por primera vez su presencia en Chile, donde en febrero de 2018 se registraron ejemplares de la especie Aglaoctenus puyen Piacentini, 2011 en un ambiente altoandino. Se observaron y fotografiaron un macho y una hembra cargando sus crías en el abdomen, en un faldeo occidental del cerro Tronador, dentro del Parque Nacional Vicente Pérez Rosales, en la Región de Los Lagos. Se aportan datos y fotos que revelan hábitos de esta especie recientemente descrita y poco conocida. Estos hallazgos resaltan la necesidad de realizar relevamientos en otras localidades al este y al oeste de los Andes, en busca de esta especie. Palabras clave: Aglaoctenus puyen, ambiente altoandino, araña lobo, cuidado de crías, Región de Los Lagos. Abstract. Aglaoctenus Tullgren, 1905 is a genus of South American spiders that belong to the Lycosidae family, of which five species are known. We report by the first time its presence in Chile, based on specimens of Aglaoctenus puyen Piacentini, 2011 that were observed in highlands of the Andes, in February 2018. A male, and a female carrying spiderlings on her abdomen, were recorded and photographed in a West slope of Tronador mount, at Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park, in Los Lagos Region. We present data and pictures that reveal undocumented habits of this recently described species. These findings highlight the need of exploration efforts in other localities East and West of the Andean Range.