Publications by authors named "Oscar Chaparro"

Intertidal microhabitats provide special conditions to the organisms that inhabit them and to some of their morpho-protective characteristics. Tidal pools, under the influence of acidified freshwater, may affect the characteristics of the protective shells of prey and have repercussions on predation. The shells of Perumytilus purpuratus from such tidepools are more fragile than those of their counterparts from the vertical intertidal walls of the same area.

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The estuarine anemone and its symbiont are continuously exposed to intense fluctuations in solar radiation and salinity owing to tidal changes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the tidal cycle, solar radiation, and salinity fluctuations on the photosynthetic and cellular responses (lipid peroxidation, total phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity) of the symbiont complex over a 24 h period in the Quempillén River Estuary. Additionally, laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the specific photobiological responses to photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), ultraviolet radiation (UVR), and salinity.

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  • The study investigates how volcanic ash impacts the feeding organisms, specifically adult females of Crepipatella peruviana, in seawater with varying ash concentrations.
  • Results showed that increased ash levels led to higher mortality rates and decreased feeding, respiration, tissue weight, and overall health of the organisms.
  • Additionally, severe gill degradation was observed, affecting their ability to feed effectively, while some antioxidant responses were triggered in reaction to the ash presence.
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  • Azamethiphos is a pesticide used in the salmon industry to combat sea lice, but it may harm non-target species like oysters, especially as seawater temperatures rise.
  • The study evaluated the combined effects of azamethiphos (at different concentrations) and temperatures on oxidative damage in oyster gonads and gills over 7 days.
  • Findings showed that lipid peroxidation increased over time in both gonads and gills, with protein damage also significant in gills across treatments, while exposure time had a greater impact on cellular damage than temperature.
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Background And Purpose: Several nonrandomized studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of balloon guide catheters in treating patients with anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion. However, their impact on the elderly populations has been underreported. We aimed to analyze the effect of balloon guide catheters in a cohort of elderly patients (80 years of age or older) with anterior circulation large-vessel occlusion.

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The echinoderm has a symbiotic relationship with the pinnotherid crustacean . Females of the crustacean develop in the terminal section of the sea urchin's digestive system, remaining there for life. This relationship has been suggested as commensalism.

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The cellular capacity of marine organisms to address rapid fluctuations in environmental conditions is decisive, especially when their bathymetric distribution encompasses intertidal and subtidal zones of estuarine systems. To understand how the bathymetric distribution determines the oxidative damage and antioxidant response of the estuarine anemone Anthopleura hermaphroditica, individuals were collected from upper intertidal and shallow subtidal zones of Quempillén River estuary (Chile), and their response analysed in a fully orthogonal, multifactorial laboratory experiment. The organisms were exposed to the effects of temperature (10°C and 30°C), salinity (10 ppt and 30 ppt) and radiation (PAR, > 400-700 nm; PAR+UV-A, > 320-700 nm; PAR+UV-A+UV-B, > 280-700 nm), and their levels of lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyl and total antioxidant capacity were determined.

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  • The study investigated how different concentrations of the pesticide azamethiphos impact the physiology of the Chilean oyster (Ostrea chilensis) at varying temperatures (12 and 15 °C).
  • Oysters exposed to a concentration of 15 μg/L of azamethiphos showed better clearance rates (CR) at 15 °C compared to those at 12 °C, indicating that warmer temperatures improve oyster performance under pesticide exposure.
  • Despite high survival rates of 91% and 79% at lower and higher azamethiphos concentrations respectively, the research highlights that the combination of temperature and pesticide negatively affects oyster health and should be studied further for its impact on other marine species.
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is an intertidal anemone that lives semi-buried in soft sediments of estuaries and releases its brooded embryos directly to the benthos, being exposed to potentially detrimental ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels. In this study, we investigated how experimental radiation (PAR: photosynthetically active radiation; UVA: ultraviolet A radiation; and UVB: ultraviolet B radiation) influences burrowing (time, depth and speed) in adults and juveniles when they were exposed to PAR (P, 400-700 nm), PAR + UVA (PA, 315-700 nm) and PAR + UVA + UVB (PAB, 280-700 nm) experimental treatments. The role of sediment as a physical shield was also assessed by exposing anemones to these radiation treatments with and without sediment, after which lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyls and total antioxidant capacity were quantified.

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Predators can influence prey through direct consumption as well as through non-consumptive effects (NCEs). NCEs usually occur mediated by behavioral changes in the prey upon detection of predator cues. Such changes may involve reduction of feeding with a variety of physiological consequences.

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Predators can exert nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) on prey, which often take place through prey behavioural adjustments to minimise predation risk. As NCEs are widespread in nature, interest is growing to determine whether NCEs on a prey species can indirectly influence several other species simultaneously, thus leading to changes in community structure. In this study, we investigate whether a predator can exert NCEs on a foundation species and indirectly affect community structure.

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The intertidal zone is an especially stressful thermal habitat, typically exposing residents to air temperatures for up to 6 h at a time, twice daily. Tolerance to elevated temperatures has been particularly well-studied for a variety of intertidal species, especially with regard to upper thermal limits during summers. However, in recent years, as climates have been changing around the world, temperate zone intertidal organisms have sometimes been exposed to periods of unusually high air temperatures during the winter.

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Estuaries are characterized by high fluctuation of their environmental conditions. Environmental parameters measured show that the seawater properties of the Quempillén estuary (i.e.

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The copepod Caligus rogercresseyi is an ectoparasite of several salmonid species. The pumping activity of filter-feeding molluscs could reduce the abundance of copepod dispersive larval stages in the water column. In this research, nauplius II and copepodid larvae of C.

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Among calyptraeid gastropods, males become females as they get older, and egg capsules containing developing embryos are maintained beneath the mother's shell until the encapsulated embryos hatch. Crepipatella dilatata is an interesting biological model considering that is an estuarine species and thus periodically exposed to elevated environment-physiological pressures. Presently, there is not much information about the reproductive biology and brooding parameters of this gastropod.

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Harmful algal blooms can adversely affect different levels of the trophic chain, from primary consumers, such as bivalve molluscs, to higher links such as large fish, birds and mammals, including humans. Among secondary consumers, it has been described that carnivorous gastropods can accumulate these toxins when they prey on bivalves that have been exposed to toxic microalgae; these could also harm human health. In Chile, frequent events of harmful algal blooms caused by the dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella have been described.

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High latitudes are considered particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification, since they are naturally low in carbonate ions. The edible mussel Mytilus chilensis is a common calcifier inhabiting marine ecosystems of the southern Chile, where culturing of this species is concentrated and where algal blooms produced by the toxic dinoflagellate A. catenella are becoming more frequent.

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This study investigates the effects of toxic and non-toxic dinoflatellates on two sympatric bivalves, the clam Mulinia edulis and the mussel Mytilus chilensis. Groups of bivalves were fed one of three diets: (i) the toxic paralytic shellfish producing (PSP) Alexandrium catenella + Isochrysis galbana; (ii) the non-toxic Alexandrium affine + Isochrysis galbana and (iii) the control diet of Isochrysis galbana. Several physiological traits were measured, such as, clearance rate, pre-ingestive selection efficiency and particle transport velocity in the gill.

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Desiccation is an important limiting factor in the intertidal zone. Generally decreasing seaward, desiccation stress can also be alleviated in wet microhabitats. Juvenile snails are generally more susceptible to desiccation than adults, and, for some species, juveniles must therefore hide in microhabitats to survive emersion.

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Although a good number of studies have investigated the impact of larval experience on aspects of post-metamorphic performance, only a few have considered the potential impact of stresses experienced by brooded embryos. In this study we separately investigated the impact of salinity stress (as low as 10) and hypoxia (1 ml O l) experienced by brooded embryos of the deposit-feeding polychaete Capitella teleta on hatching success, metamorphosis, post-metamorphic survival, and post-metamorphic growth. Salinity reduction from 30 to 10 or 15 reduced relative hatching success, presumably by reducing embryonic survival, but generally had no negative latent effects on juvenile survival or growth.

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The estuarine slipper limpet Crepipatella dilatata is a gastropod that can survive prolonged periods of low salinities (< 24 PSU) caused by tidal changes and/or prolonged periods of rain. During low salinity events, C. dilatata can isolate its body from the outside environment, by sealing its shell against the substrate on which it grows.

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Unlike lamellibranch bivalves, suspension-feeding calyptraeid gastropods lack siphons and paired shell valves to regulate water inflow. This study was designed to determine if calyptraeid gastropods use the solid surface to which they attach to facilitate food particle capture. Juveniles of both Crepidula fornicata and Crepipatella peruviana were maintained with phytoplankton for 3 to 6 wk in the laboratory, either attached to solid substrate or without solid substrate.

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Brooding in invertebrates serves to protect embryos from stressful external conditions by retaining progeny inside the female body, effectively reducing the risk of pelagic stages being exposed to predation or other environmental stressors, but with accompanying changes in pallial fluid characteristics, including reduced oxygen availability. Brooded embryos are usually immobile and often encapsulated, but in some Ostrea species the embryos move freely inside the female pallial cavity in close association with the mother's gills for as long as eight weeks. We used endoscopic techniques to characterize the circulation pattern of embryos brooded by females of the oyster, Ostrea chilensis.

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