Courtney E. Stuart (1,2), Stephanie J. Green (2), Oksana Vernygora (2), Aaron R. H. LeBlanc (2), Mary H. Bertschi (1), Maria Brown (1)
Journal of Fish Biology, 98, Issue 4, April 2021: 1196-1201. DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14634

Keywords

Amazon basin; Characidae; fisheries ecology; microcomputed tomography; Serrasalmidae; tooth replacement

Abstract

We explored patterns, rates and unexpected socio-ecological consequences of tooth replacement in serrasalmids and characids of the Peruvian Amazon using microcomputed tomography. Of 24 specimens collected in February 2019, representing a mix of red-bellied piranha Pygocentrus nattereri, redeye piranha Serrasalmus rhombeus, silver dollar fish Ctenobrycon hauxwellianus and mojara Astyanax abramis, six individuals possessed edentulous jaw quadrants. On average, 22.9% of fish collected per day from these species featured incomplete dentition, a value three to five times higher than anticipated based on replacement rates estimated from captive fish, differences that may be driven by ontogeny, seasonality or environmental quality.

How Our Software Was Used

Dragonfly was used for the 2D and 3D visualizations of microCT images.

Author Affiliation

(1) School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA, 11790.
(2) Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E9.