Short-term effects of a spinosyn's family insecticide on energy metabolism and liver morphology in frugivorous bats Artibeus lituratus (Olfers, 1818)

Abstract

A new class of insecticide derived from fermentation of Sacharopolyspora spinosa -spinosad, has been indicated as being of low toxicity and a natural alternative to classical pesticides. In order to elucidate several aspects related to the morphophysiological changes induced by spinosad in Artibeus lituratus, the effects of a seven-day administration on plasma glucose, glycogen, protein and lipid concentrations were evaluated, and possible changes in liver cells were examined by histological analysis. Animals were fed with spinosyn-contaminated fruit through immersion in a solution. Data reporting on metabolism revealed a decrease in hind limb muscle lipid concentration in the treated group. Morphological analysis indicated a significant increase in liver cell diameter in treated animals compared to the control group. This study indicates that spinosyn, used at its recommended dose, does not affect general energy metabolism in A. lituratus but may affect some ultrastructural characteristics of liver cells. Keywords

Exposure to the insecticide endosulfan induces liver morphology alterations and oxidative stress in fruit‐eating bats (Artibeus lituratus)

“…Papaya fruits were chosen due to their high acceptance from bats in captivity (Amaral et al . ,b). Fruits were dipped in one of the above‐mentioned solutions and left to dry in an adapted container to prevent contact and therefore losses of the insecticide in the outer layer.…”

“…Previous studies from our laboratory showed histopathological alterations in the livers of fruit‐eating bats that have been exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of the insecticide fenthion (Amaral et al . ,b). As the liver and kidneys are the main organs involved with metabolism and excretion of xenobiotics and their residual metabolic by‐products (Astiz et al .…”

Avaliação fisiológica de morcegos frugívoros neotropicais e estruturação da assembleia causado pela alteração de habitat no cerrado

“…Na literatura recente, encontramos trabalhos que avaliaram o metabolismo energético e a mobilização das reservas metabólicas em morcegos no Brasil. No entanto, a maioria desses estudos foi realizada em região de Mata Atlântica (Barros et al, 2013;Amaral et al, 2012aAmaral et al, , 2012bMelo et al, 2012;Freitas et al, 2010) e, apenas Melo e colaboradores (2012) relacionaram as reservas energéticas à alteração do habitat.…”

“…Neotropical são voltados a poucas espécies e habitats (Barros et al, 2013;Amaral et al, 2012aAmaral et al, , 2012bMelo et al, 2012;Freitas et al, 2010Freitas et al, , 2006Freitas et al, , 2003Pinheiro et al, 2006). A avaliação da resposta à alteração do ambiente fica limitada a comparação com outros tipos de ambiente.…”

“…Apesar desta habilidade, vários trabalhos têm demonstrado que a fragmentação do habitat reduz a riqueza e abundância destes animais (Farrow e Broders, 2011;Gorrensen e Willig, 2004;Fenton et al, 1992). A resposta de morcegos a possíveis fatores estressantes tem sido avaliada ainda, pelo metabolismo energético em região de Mata Atlântica (Barros et al, 2013;Amaral et al, 2012aAmaral et al, , 2012bMelo et al, 2012;Freitas et al, 2010). Apesar da avaliação fisiológica dos efeitos da fragmentação ser considerada uma ferramenta muito útil (Bernard et al, 2012;Romero, 2004), não existem trabalhos envolvendo a avaliação do metabolismo energético e estresse em morcegos na região do Cerrado.…”