Ciguatera Toxins Adversely Affect Piscivorous Fishes

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Abstract
Four species of piscivorous fishes (coney Epinephelus fulvus; schoolmaster Lutjanus apodus; mahogany snapper L. mahogoni; and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides) displayed distinct behavioral abnormalities after consumption of a ciguatoxic great barracuda Sphyraena barracuda. Samples of the great barracuda were fed to experimental fishes as ether-soluble extracts or as ground flesh. Largemouth bass were also fed freeze-dried cells of the dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus toxicus in a separate experiment and displayed a similar response, Signs of intoxication included skin color variations, inactivity, loss of equilibrium, erratic swimming, jerky feeding movements, and loss of orientation – and death, in the case of largemouth bass fed 1.0 g or more of great barracuda flesh or 7.1 mg·g–1 or more of great barracuda extract. These abnormalities usually were observed within 24 h after the feeding of toxic materials, and were apparent in some cases for as long as 76 d.
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