Chiloe Island Research Articles

Genetic Variability of Cultured Populations of Red Abalone in Chile: An Approach Based on Heterologous Microsatellites

To evaluate the current genetic status of Chilean abalone hatchery populations, we tested 25 heterologous microsatellite loci in Haliotis rufescens Swainson 1822. Successful cross-amplification was obtained with 13 microsatellite loci, and 7 were used to estimate genetic variability in 4 separate hatchery populations: 2 located in Caldera, 1 in Coquimbo (northern Chile), and one more on Chiloe Island (southern Chile). The number of alleles per locus (NA) ranged from 2–16, with an average of 8.86. Among populations, mean Ho and He values were 0.510 and 0.746, respectively, with significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium at 23–28 of the population loci analyzed (82.1%). The FIS values calculated showed no significant differences among the different hatcheries analyzed. However, FIS values from the Caldera populations were close to panmixia values, whereas Coquimbo and Chiloe populations showed a slight tendency to endogamy. According to the FST and RST values, there are genetic differences among the populations, with the 3 northern hatcheries from Caldera and Coquimbo more related than the abalone population of southern Chile. In addition, comparison between California wild and Chilean hatchery abalone populations showed a loss of genetic diversity evidenced by microsatellite markers. The current study contributes to the genetic knowledge of the Chilean red abalone aquaculture resource and reveals the necessity to perform genetic monitoring in hatchery populations.

Discrimination between farmed and free-living invasive salmonids in Chilean Patagonia using stable isotope analysis

In Chilean Patagonia relatively pristine aquatic environments are being modified by the introduction of exotic salmonids, initially through their deliberate release for sport fishing since the early twentieth century, and more recently via the accidental escape from fish farms. There is therefore a need to reliably distinguish between naturally reproducing and fugitive salmonids associated with the Chilean salmonid farming industry, the second largest in the world. We tested the ability of stable isotope analysis (SIA) and analysis of scale growth profiles to discriminate between farmed and free-living salmonids sampled around the Island of Chiloe. Juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from aquaculture facilities were significantly more enriched in δ15N and lipid-corrected δ13C than river-caught individuals. Scale growth slopes during the first year in freshwater were significantly higher in farmed than in wild-caught rainbow trout, indicating faster somatic growth under hatchery conditions. Stable isotopes analysis classified 94% of juvenile Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout to their correct farm or free-living groups. Our results, therefore, can help to elucidate the origin and spread of exotic invasive salmonids in Chile, and address one of the biggest threats to native freshwater fishes in Patagonia and other temperate zones of the Southern Hemisphere.

Epiphytic Growth Habits of Chilean Gesneriaceae And the Evolution of Epiphytes Within the Tribe Coronanthereae1

Abstract Three monotypic and endemic genera of epiphytic Gesneriaceae (Gesnerioideae, Coronanthereae) occur in temperate rainforests of southern South America. In this article, intraspecific differences in rooted substrate and interspecific variation in epiphytic growth habits among these three Gesneriaceae species were assessed. The presence or absence of plants on the ground and main rooted substrate when growing epiphytically on trees were used to characterize epiphytic growth habits in two old-growth temperate rainforests of northern Chiloe Island (42°30′S) in Chile. An evolutionary interpretation based on reported phylogenies and morphologies within the Coronanthereae is proposed. Two species of Chilean Gesneriaceae, Mitraria coccinea Cav. and Asteranthera ovata (Cav.) Hanst., originate from the forest floor, then climb on trees while maintaining their main roots in the ground, and are classified as secondary hemiepiphytes. The third species, Sarmienta repens Ruiz & Pav., was found exclusively on tre...

Distribución espacial de larvas de crustáceos decápodos planctónicos en canales orientales de la isla Chiloé, Chile

The vertical distribution and abundance of planktonic decapods larvae in channels from the inside part of Chiloe Island is analyzed. The larvae distribution ...

Distribucion espacial de larvas de crustaceos decapodos planctonicos en canales orientales de la isla Chiloe, Chile

The vertical distribution and abundance of planktonic decapods larvae in channels from the inside part of Chiloe Island is analyzed. The larvae distribution is related with the capture daytime and the tide conditions and which could interfere with the vertical or ontogenic migrations described for the meroplankton. From the identified species, the Neotrypaea uncinata larvae were the most abundant. Their vertical distribution was inverse to the one described by the circadian migration of the zooplankton, without detecting significant differences among the abundances in both sampled strata. The abundance of Cancridae and Pinnotheridae larvae were the only ones that had significant differences in the two strata, although they were inverse to the pattern of circadian vertical distribution. The tide height and the oceanographic dynamic described for the channels of the area under study would be decisive in the distribution of larvae in the sector, overcoming their transport to the migratory behavior described for the zooplankton in general.

La tejuela de madera en Chiloé, Chile: Estudio del borde de terminación en los poblados de Achao, Curaco de Vélez y Villa Quinchao

The value of chilota architecture is distinguished by the use of wood, unique material for their manufacture, for aesthetic language that manifests in their facades. There is a work of texture or "skin" covering architecture, as well as the use of bright colors, which serve to distinguish the houses, and for purposes of location and orientation. Considering the situation of isolation which is to live in the Chiloe archipelago, is through their ingenuity that can respond to their needs. This study is inserted in the manufacture of a product icon Chiloe island, the tejuela in wood. The formal solutions and building systems must conform to the material and the possibilities of mechanical work the same.

First evidence of Okadaic acid acyl-derivative and Dinophysistoxin-3 in mussel samples collected in Chiloe Island, Southern Chile

This paper shows the detection of Diarrhetic Shellfish Poison (DSP) phycotoxins, using HPLC-FLD with pre-column derivatization procedure and HPLC-MS methods, in the analysis of shellfish extracts tested positive with the official DSP mouse bioassay. The shellfish samples were collected in Chiloe Island, Southern of Chile. The amount of Dinophysistoxin-3 (DTX-3) measured in the shellfish extracts were in average above the international safe limits for DSP content in the shellfish extracts analyzed. As internal control of detection and recovery, DTX-1 analytical standard was spiked into dichloromethane-clean shellfish extracts in order to calculate de extraction recovery of DTX-1. The average recovery was 97%. From all DSP toxins analyzed, the hydrolyzed extract samples appeared mainly DTX-3 in concentrations ranging from 99.40 +/- 1.22 to 257.73 +/- 12.46 ng/g digestive-glands. The acyl-Okadaic Acid (acyl-OA) was also detected in some samples, ranging from 1.02 +/- 1.4 to 3.07. +/- 1.6 ng of DSP toxin/g digestive-glands. This is the first report of acyl-OA ever found in Chilean shellfish samples. This data shows that shellfish samples were contaminated with a complex DSP toxins profile, in which DTX-3 is the major DSP toxin component, followed by DTX-1 and the acyl-OA as the minor one. The important findings showed in this study are the presence of both acyl-derivates (DTX-3 and Acyl-OA) which are the product of a main metabolic biotransformation that occurred inside the shellfish, in order to chelate DTX-1 and OA, transforming them into DTX-3 and the acyl-OA respectively. This metabolic biotransformation must be performed to avoid self-inhibition of their Protein Phosphatase 2A done by DTX-1 and OA, since both acyl-derivates (DTX-3 and acyl-OA) do not inhibit Protein Phosphatase 2A. This complex DSP toxins profile and the permanent presence of both acyl-derivates (DTX-3 and Acyl-OA) could explain the permanent diarrhea symptoms that experience patients who have ingested cooked shellfish in the southern of Chile. This diarrhea is not associated to Vibrio parahaemolyticus or other enteropathogens as had been suggested before. The massive shellfish consumption is an important Chilean cultural habit and now has become a major health issue in the southern of Chile.

DIVERSITY AND SUMMER DISTRIBUTION OF CETACEANS IN INLET WATERS OF NORTHERN AISÉN, CHILE

Galletti, B., C. Carlson, E. Cabrera & R.L. Brownell Jr. 2006. Blue, sei and humpback whale sightings during 2006 field season in northwestern Isla de Chiloe, Chile. Paper SC/58/SH17 presented to the International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee, St. Kitts and Nevis, May 2006 (unpublished). 6pp.

First record on an amphibian in the canopy of temperate rainforests of southern South America: Eupsophus calcaratus (Cycloramphidae)

We record for the first time arboreal habits in amphibians from the temperate rainforests of southern South America. In April 2006 we collected an individual of Eupsophus calcaratus at 16 m height, in a large Eucryphia cordifolia tree of old-growth forest of Chiloe Island, southern Chile. This species was considered until now as a terrestrial species, and the similarities between forest ground and epiphytic layer may allow this species inhabit the canopy. However, the level of association among these frogs and the forest canopy is unknown. The canopy of southern South America forests remains barely known, and as other forest canopies, may support high species diversity.

Analysis of the potential geographic range of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) based on surface seawater temperature satellite data and climate charts: the coast of South America as a study case

Ecological niche modeling based on surface seawater (SST) and atmospheric (AT) temperature records was used to predict the potential range of distribution of Crassostrea gigas, focusing on the South American coast as a study case. In its native range, the species maintains self-sustaining populations at thermal regimes with mean SST ranging from 14.0° to 28.9°C for the warmest month and from −1.9° to 19.8°C for the coldest month of the year. Settlement is also constrained to mean AT varying between 15° and 31°C for the warmest month and between −23° and 14°C for the coldest month of the year. Latitudinal limits for the species’ distribution in South America predicted by the analysis of AT regimes were Valdivia-Chiloe Island (39.8o–42.0°S, Chile) and Pisco (13.4°S, Peru) on the Pacific coast, and San Julian port (49.3°S) (Argentina) and Garopaba-Rio Grande (28.0°–32.0°S, Brazil) on the Atlantic coast. Geographical limits of distribution predicted by analysis of SST regimes were Chiloe Island (42.0°S, Chile) and Mancora (4.1°S, Peru) on the Pacific coast, and Puerto Deseado ria (47.7°S, Argentina) and Paranagua (25.7°S, Brazil) on the Atlantic coast. Therefore, SST regimes would expand the potential range on the Pacific coast equatorward relative to AT.

The reproductive output of sea lice Caligus rogercresseyi under controlled conditions

Gravid females of Caligus rogercresseyi were collected from Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar) from a farm located at Chiloe Island (42°40′S73°15′W), Chile, to obtain information about the reproductive output of this parasite in vitro. The egg strings removed from the females were incubated under controlled conditions to obtain virgin adult females. One female which had mated only once produced eleven generations of eggs strings in a period of 74 days. The first egg strings of the females obtained in vitro were produced at 389 degree days (°D) after egg incubation, while the next generations of eggs strings were produced with a periodicity between 4 and 6 days dependent on the water temperature. The average length of the egg string was 3.1 mm and the mean number of eggs per string was 31. The values recorded in captivity for the egg string length and the number of eggs per string, were lower than the values recorded in gravid females from the field. One female survived for 79 days and males, maintained separately from the females, survived for 60 days.

Molecular characterization of an ancient Hepatozoon species parasitizing the ‘living fossil’ marsupial ‘Monito del Monte’ Dromiciops gliroides from Chile

The Microbiotheriid Dromiciops gliroides, also known as ‘Monito del Monte’, is considered to be a threatened species and the only living representative of this group of South American marsupials. During the last few years, several blood samples from specimens of ‘Monito del Monte’ captured at Chiloe island in Chile have been investigated for blood parasites. Inspection of blood smears detected a Hepatozoon species infecting red blood cells. The sequences of DNA fragments corresponding to small subunit ribosomal RNA gene revealed two parasitic lineages belonging to Hepatozoon genus. These parasite lineages showed a basal position with respect to Hepatozoon species infecting rodents, reptiles, and amphibians but are phylogenetically distinct from Hepatozoon species infecting the order Carnivora. In addition, the Hepatozoon lineages infecting D. gliroides are also different from those infecting other micro-mammals living in sympatry, as well as from some that have been described to infect an Australian species of bandicoot. The potential vector of this parasite appears to be the host-specific tick Ixodes neuquenensis because the sequencing of a long amplicon determined the presence of one of the two lineages found in the marsupial. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 98, 568–576.

Deep lithospheric structures along the southern central Chile margin from wide-angleP-wave modelling

P>Crustal- and upper-mantle structures of the subduction zone in south central Chile, between 42 degrees S and 46 degrees S, are determined from seismic wide-angle reflection and refraction data, using the seismic ray tracing method to calculate minimum parameter models. Three profiles along differently aged segments of the subducting Nazca Plate were analysed in order to study subduction zone structure dependencies related to the age, that is, thermal state, of the incoming plate. The age of the oceanic crust at the trench ranges from 3 Ma on the southernmost profile, immediately north of the Chile triple junction, to 6.5 Ma old about 100 km to the north, and to 14.5 Ma old another 200 km further north, off the Island of Chiloe. Remarkable similarities appear in the structures of both the incoming as well as the overriding plate. The oceanic Nazca Plate is around 5 km thick, with a slightly increasing thickness northward, reflecting temperature changes at the time of crustal generation. The trench basin is about 2 km thick except in the south where the Chile Ridge is close to the deformation front and only a small, 800-m-thick trench infill could develop. In south central Chile, typically three quarters (1.5 km) of the trench sediments subduct below the decollement in the subduction channel. To the north and south of the study area, only about one quarter to one third of the sediments subducts, the rest is accreted above. Similarities in the overriding plate are the width of the active accretionary prism, 35-50 km, and a strong lateral crustal velocity gradient zone about 75-80 km landward from the deformation front, where landward upper-crustal velocities of over 5.0-5.4 km s<SU-1</SU decrease seaward to around 4.5 km s<SU-1</SU within about 10 km, which possibly represents a palaeo-backstop. This zone is also accompanied by strong intraplate seismicity. Differences in the subduction zone structures exist in the outer rise region, where the northern profile exhibits a clear bulge of uplifted oceanic lithosphere prior to subduction whereas the younger structures have a less developed outer rise. This plate bending is accompanied by strongly reduced rock velocities on the northern profile due to fracturing and possible hydration of the crust and upper mantle. The southern profiles do not exhibit such a strong alteration of the lithosphere, although this effect may be counteracted by plate cooling effects, which are reflected in increasing rock velocities away from the spreading centre. Overall there appears little influence of incoming plate age on the subduction zone structure which may explain why the M-w = 9.5 great Chile earthquake from 1960 ruptured through all these differing age segments. The rupture area, however, appears to coincide with a relatively thick subduction channel.

CUANDO LA MEMORIA POÉTICA DOCUMENTA LA HISTORIA NO TODO LO SÓLIDO SE DESVANECE EN EL AIRE: (En torno a Nada queda atrás de Carlos Trujillo y Milton Rogovin)

Nada queda atras is a book of documentary photographs and poetry. The photograghs, shot by Milton Rogovin in 1967, in Quemchi on the island of Chiloe, are today documents which record history and denounce the empoverished conditions in which the fishermen and farmers then lived in Chiloe. The poems, written by Carlos Trujillo, 37 years later in the United Status are, on the one hand, poetic testimonies of the personal and collective memory that the photographs suggest; memories which, in turn, become an imaginary (re)construction of the cultural identity of Chiloe lived by the poet, as a particular experience of foreignity and absence. The poetic texts are, then, derivations of the photographic document, but at the same time they are symbols with which to read/see the photos as metaphors of a profound Chiloe of olden times and today. Seen as such, the book is literally a document of of culture and barbarism: culture as a recognition of the ethics and aesthetics of the “forgotten,” and barbarism as that same recognition reveals stories of postponement and inequality.

Threatened fishes of the world: Ophiogobius jenynsi Hoese 1976 (Gobiidae)

Common name: Gobio (Spanish). Conservation status:Rare (according to Glade 1993 conservation criteria).Identification: Elonged body, totally naked. Headdepressed with numerous pores. Pelvic rays connectedto form a disc. No barbels. Tongue bilobed. Eightdorsal spines. In adults the body is covered with smallfaint spots, forming a reticulated color pattern. Maxi-mum length 8.5 cm. Drawing by Fernando Burgos.Distribution: Distributed along the Chilean coast,having been reported from Valparaiso (33o 05′ S,71o 40′ W) to Punta Arenas (53o 08′ S, 70o 55′ W) (DeBuen 1963;Hoese1976; Navarro and Pequeno 1979).Habitat and ecology: It is a quite rare goby inhabitingthe rocky intertidal zone of Chile. It may be classifiedas a microcarnivore that consumes small crustaceans,in particular copepods, amphipods, and ostracods(Munoz and Ojeda 1998). No substantial dietarychanges through ontogeny are evident with respect toprey taxa consumed, although larger specimensconsume larger amphipods. A diet comparison be-tween O. jenynsi and 13 sympatric species of intertidalfishes showed that this species overlaps substantiallywith all other microcarnivorous species, viz. thetripterygids Helcogrammoides cunninghami, and H.chilensis, the clinid Myxodes viridis and the labrisomidCalliclinus geniguttatus (Munoz and Ojeda 1998).Reproduction: Unknown. Threats: Habitat loss due tointensive and extensive use of the coastal fringe.Conservation actions: None taken. Conservationrecommendations: Since the level of coastal protectionin Chile is very low (less than 3%; Fernandez andCastilla 2005), creation of national marine parks andsanctuaries—at strategic locations—are surely the mostimportant strategy to protect threatened species.Remarks: This species was first described as Gobiusophicephalus by Jenyns (1842) based on a specimen(the holotype of O. jenynsi) collected by CharlesDarwin at Lowe’s Harbour, Chonos Archipelago,Chiloe Island.

Estimating Eastern Pacific Coast Populations of Whimbrels and Hudsonian Godwits, with an Emphasis on Chiloé Island, Chile

Abstract. A large proportion of the Hudsonian Godwits (Limosa haemastica) spending the boreal winter along the eastern Pacific Ocean coast are known to occur in the vicinity of Chiloe Island, Chile, but the importance of the region to Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) is less known. Ground counts conducted in 2007 and 2008 increased published estimates, at a minimum, of Pacific coast populations by 27% for Whimbrels (33,150 individuals) and 51% for Hudsonian Godwits (21,161 individuals). Bays and shorelines in the Chiloe Island region supported 99% of Hudsonian Godwits and, perhaps, 61% of Whimbrels estimated to occur along the Pacific coast during the boreal winter. Whereas Hudsonian Godwits aggregated in shallow bays on the eastern and northern coast of Chiloe Island, Whimbrels were more dispersed along the island's coastline and reached a density of 7.5 birds/km along sheltered gravel shorelines. Bays in the vicinity of Chiloe's capital, Castro, provided important foraging and roosting habitat for non-bree...

Neotropical Tineidae VIII: Falsivalva, a New Genus from Austral South America with Extreme Modification of the Male Postabdominal Terga (Lepidoptera: Tineidae)

Abstract Falsivalva, new genus is described and illustrated. In addition to the previously named type species, “Tinea” prensoria Meyrick, three new species, F. clavata, F. nephophila, and F. paraprensoria, are described. The most conspicuous synapomorphy of Falsivalva is the highly specialized tergum IX (tegumen) of the male, which is greatly enlarged and almost completely divided to resemble the male gonopods (valvae). It is suggested, but not observed, that these paired structures may function either to guide or clasp the female oviscapt during copulation. The genus occurs in both coastal and Andean Nothofagus forests primarily in southern Chile from approximately 35°S in Maule Province south to about 45° in Chiloe Island and east to Neuquen Province, Argentina. The biology is unknown.

Características citológicas del lavado bronqueoalveolar y respuesta inmune humoral frente a Aspergillus fumigatus en caballos Chilotes con obstrucción recurrente de las vías aéreas

SUMMARY In this study, the presence and characteristics of the recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), in Chilote horses were investigated. The Chilote horse is a breed of small and very rustic horses, descendent from the horses that were brought by the spaniards during the colony and remained isolated in the Chiloe island, south of Chile, for a long time. Twenty two animals, all from the same farm and living under similar conditions, were physically examined. In all cases broncheoalveolar lavage (BALF) was performed and the recovered resident cells from the respiratory tract were studied in smears stained with May Grewald – Giemsa; the level of antibodies against Aspergillus fumigatus was determined by ELISA. The results indicate that out of the total population of animals under investigation, 13 showed clinical signs compatible with RAO and 9 were normal. In all cases, the animals that were considered RAO positive showed a higher percentage of polymorphonuclear neutrophils in the BALF: furthermore, a clear positive correlation between the relative amount of neutrophilic cells present in the airways and the severity of the signs observed during the physical examination exists. All of the animals, healthy and RAO positive horses, showed high titres of antibodies against A. fumigatus, a well known allergen, commonly distributed in the region and present in the hay/straw. Our results show that Chilote horses, even though they are a rustic bread, are very susceptible to become RAO positive with similar characteristics to those described in other breeds, moreover, all animals were sensitized to A. fumigatus antigens showing the immunogenicity and the important distribution of this fungal allergen.

Seed rain of fleshy and dry propagules in different habitats in the temperate rainforests of Chiloe Island, Chile

In temperate rainforests on Chiloé Island in southern Chile (42°S), most canopy trees bear fleshy, avian-dispersed propagules, whereas emergent tree species have dry, wind-borne propagules. In the present study, the following hypothesis was tested: regardless of species, fleshy propagules are deposited in greater numbers in canopy gaps and in forest margins and hence have a more heterogeneous seed shadow than wind-dispersed propagules. To test this hypothesis, the seed rains of these two types of propagules were compared in the following forest habitats: (i) tree-fall gaps (edges and centre); (ii) forest margins with adjacent pastures; and (iii) under closed canopy (forest interior). Seed collectors (30-cm diameter) were placed in two (15 and 100 ha) remnant forest patches (n = 60–100 seed collectors per patch) distributed in the four habitats. Seeds were retrieved monthly from each collector during two reproductive seasons (1996, 1997). In both years, the seed rain was numerically dominated by two species with dry propagules (Laureliopsis philippiana and Nothofagus nitida) and three species with fleshy fruits (Drimys winteri, Amomyrtus luma, and Amomyrtus meli). The seed shadows of the two species with dry, wind-dispersed seeds differed markedly. Seeds of L. philippiana were deposited predominantly in canopy openings, whereas N. nitida seeds fell almost entirely in the forest interior. The fleshy-fruited species, Drimys and Amomyrtus spp., had similar seed deposition patterns in the various habitats studied, but the between-year differences in seed rain were greater in Drimys winteri than in Amomyrtus spp. Although no more than 10% of fleshy-fruited propagules reached the margins of the patch, approximately 7% of these were carried there by birds. Every year, canopy gaps (pooling data from edges and centres) concentrated approximately 60% of the total seed rain of both propagule types in both forest patches. Forest margins received less than 20% of the total seed rain, which was largely dominated by fleshy-fruited species. Seed shadows were a species-specific attribute rather than a trait associated with propagule type and dispersal mode.

New time-constraints on provenance, metamorphism and exhumation of the Bahía Mansa Metamorphic Complex on the Main Chiloé Island, south-central Chile

New time-constraints on provenance, metamorphism and exhumation of the Bahía Mansa Metamorphic Complex on the Main Chiloé Island, south-central Chile