Maria Eugenia Lattuca

National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) · Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC). Laboratorio de Ecología, Fisiología y Evolución (LEFE)

Conflicting results remain on the impacts of climate change on marine organisms, hindering our capacity to predict the future state of marine ecosystems. To account for species-specific responses and for the ambiguous relation of most metrics to fitness, we develop a meta-analytical approach based on the deviation of responses from reference values...

Dióxido de carbono, efecto invernadero, calentamiento global (intensificado) son palabras que nos resultan familiares y asociamos al cambio climático. Pero… ¿cómo se relacionan todos estos conceptos?

Conflicting results remain on how climate change affects the biological performance of different marine taxa, hindering our capacity to predict the future state of marine ecosystems. Using a novel meta-analytical approach, we tested for directional changes and deviations across biological responses of fish and invertebrates from exposure to warming...

La temperatura ambiental es un factor clave que determina los rangos de distribución de las especies a través de su efecto sobre distintos procesos fisiológicos y ecológicos. Se estudió el efecto de la temperatura sobre el alcance metabólico (AM) de juveniles de Patagonotothen tessellata (Pt) y Harpagifer bispinis (Hb), dos especies de nototénidos...

To predict the potential impacts of climate change on marine organisms, it is critical to understand how multiple stressors constrain the physiology and distribution of species. We evaluated the effects of seasonal changes in seawater temperature and near-future ocean acidification (OA) on organismal and sub-organismal traits associated with the th...

This work aimed to evaluate the whole-organism and cellular level responses to different combinations of water temperature and salinity of the notothenioid Patagonotothen cornucola at the end of the yolk-sac larval stage. Egg masses of the species were collected in the wild and then maintained at natural water conditions (4 °C and 30 PSU). Newly ha...

Climate change, fishing, and invasion by alien species are the drivers of global change that mainly affect Patagonian marine fish assemblages. In this chapter, we reconstructed the coastal fish assemblages and their changes in richness and composition in three areas at northern, central, and southern Patagonia between 1970 and 2020. Overall, there...

The Notothenioidei are a typical example of stenothermal fishes since most species have evolved and lived in Antarctic waters, where the water temperature is low and stable. This fact enabled them to evolve physiological characteristics related to cold. Nevertheless, some species came out of Antarctic waters a few million years ago and coped with m...

The aim of this work was to describe the growth of Cottoperca trigloides, a notothenioid species with a non-Antarctic distribution, and to test the existence of different nursery areas and fish stocks through changes in the otolith elemental composition. Fish were collected during spring 2009 over the Patagonia continental shelf, including the Mari...

South American galaxiids occupy both Patagonia and the ichthyogeographic Chilean Province, encompassing glacial Andean deep lakes, shallow plateau lakes, reservoirs, short Pacific rivers and long Atlantic rivers. The total fish fauna includes 29 species, comprising Neotropical fishes (siluriforms and characids), galaxiids, percichthyids, atherinops...

We evaluated the effects of projected, near future ocean acidification (OA) and extreme events of temperature (warming or cooling) on the thermal tolerance of Concholepas concholepas, a coastal benthic keystone species. Three separate trials of an experiment were conducted by exposing juvenile C. concholepas for 1 month to one of two contrasting pC...

La supervivencia y distribución de los peces está relacionada con su historia térmica. Consecuentemente, las variaciones en la temperatura ambiente pueden provocar alteraciones en su fisiología y comportamiento, conduciendo a cambios en sus distribuciones. En este contexto, se estudió la fisiología térmica de Patagonotothen tessellata y Harpagifer...

To make robust projectios of the impacts of climate change, it is critical to understand how abiotic factors may interact to constrain the distribution and productivity of marine flora and fauna. We evaluated the effects of projected end of the century ocean acidification (OA) and warming (OW) on the thermal tolerance of an important living marine...

Dado que la temperatura es un factor crítico en la distribución de los peces, la coexistencia de especies nativas y exóticas puede verse limitada si sus rangos de tolerancia térmica y temperaturas preferidas son similares. Este solapamiento térmico puede conducir a depredación, competencia por recursos y a una disminución de las tasas de crecimient...

The aim of this work was to analyze the thermal responses of Odontesthes nigricans, Eleginops maclovinus and diadromous Galaxias maculatus, key species in estuarine areas of the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina), under a climate change scenario. We hypothesized that in the southernmost limit of the species’ distribution, individuals are...

The native freshwater fish Galaxias platei shows a wide latitudinal distribution in Patagonia, being found on both sides of the Andes. Currently, climate change poses one of the main threats to native fish, and its effects are appearing faster in high southern latitudes. The aim of this work was to analyse the possible effects of climate change in...

El calentamiento global plantea una de las principales amenazas a la biodiversidad nativa y sus efectos se observan más rápidamente a altas latitudes. En este sentido, se analizó la tolerancia y preferencia térmica y la respuesta metabólica ante variaciones de temperatura de Galaxias platei en lagos de Tierra del Fuego. Los peces fueron mantenidos...

Salinity is one of the most important structuring factors in the distribution and bioenergetics of estuarine fishes. The aims of this work were to study the distribution of the sub-Antarctic, eurythermic, euryhaline and coastal notothenioid Eleginops maclovinus in Lapataia estuary (Tierra del Fuego National Park), in relation to salinity conditions...

The puyen Galaxias maculatus is a fast-growing species, and the studied population at the southernmost extreme of the species' distribution (54°S) has the shortest growing season among the South American populations (least daylight hours and lowest temperatures), as well as the largest size. Thus, it offers an opportunity to study the effects of st...

This study presents new geographical distribution records for the macroparasites of the marine Odontesthes nigricans (Richardson, 1848) (89 wild specimens), and for the freshwater silversides Odontesthes bonariensis (Valenciennes, 1835) (43 wild and 108 cultured specimens), and Odontesthes hatcheri (Eigenmann, 1909) (183 wild specimens) from Argent...

Las características térmicas de G. platei la ubican entre las especies con amplios rangos de tolerancia térmica (euritérmicas), con capacidad de aclimatación y de sobrevivir al congelamiento del agua dulce. Sus VO 2R se encuentran en el rango de valores reportados para individuos de Patagonia norte (11). Por otro lado, estos valores resultaron más...

Present study consists the effects of dietary carotenoids on the gonad and gut index, colour of gonads, carotenoid pigments and lipid peroxidation in the gonads and gut of the sea urchin Loxechinus albus. Individuals were fed for 8 weeks with the following diets: (A) fresh algae, (B) and (C) enriched with 0.02% and 0.045% all trans beta-carotene, r...

The aim of this work was to explore for the existence of a physiological basis for the apparent exclusion of salmonid fish from the littoral zone of lakes in Patagonia in response to increasing water temperature, to the benefit of the native perca (Percichthys trucha). We conducted experiments on the thermal preferences of juvenile perca and rainbo...

During the research programme conducted on the OV Puerto Deseado in the summers of 2011 and 2013, 36 stations were sampled using a demersal net at depths between 53–590m in the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands.Atotal 3378 fish specimens belonging to 36 species were recorded. Notothenidae was the best-represented family in species numb...

We assessed several biomarkers of oxidative damage on silversides Odontesthes nigricans from Varela and Golondrina bays, located on the North shore of the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) and we tried to relate those responses to environmental data. Varela bay is visited mostly by local fishermen and tourism during the spring-summer sea...

We assessed several biomarkers of oxidative damage on silversides Odontesthes nigricans from Varela and Golondrina bays, located on the North shore of the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) and we tried to relate those responses to environmental data. Varela bay is visited mostly by local fi shermen and tourism during the spring-summer se...

Seasonal growth of Galaxias maculatus in Tierra del Fuego, at the southern limit of its distribution, can be explained by the variation in extrinsic factors, and experiments with fasting in summer conditions would allow researchers to focus on the potential feeding/fasting conditions independent of other seasonal cues, and thus distinguish the effe...

The influence of temperature on the aerobic metabolism and the energetic cost of food intake (Specific Dynamic Action; SDA) have been investigated in four species of Sub-Antarctic teleosts. The species were the notothenioids Paranotothenia magellanica, Patagonotothen sima and Harpagifer bispinis and the zoarcid Austrolycus depressiceps. Individuals...

This study establishes the reproductive cycle, batch fecundity and oocyte diameter of a diadromic population of the puyen, Galaxias maculatus, in the Río Ovando, Tierra del Fuego, (54°S), at the southernmost limit of its distribution. Given the short ‘favourable season’ in relation to other populations of the species (in terms of temperature, photo...

The aim of this work was to study comparatively the oxidative metabolism in gills and liver of a silverside, Odontesthes nigricans, in their natural environment, the Beagle Channel. Oxidative damage to lipids was evaluated by assessing TBARS and lipid radical content, in gills and liver. Gills showed a significantly higher degree of damage than liv...

The energy density (ED) of nine species of sub-Antarctic fishes was estimated by calorimetry. The fish, seven notothenioids, one atherinopsid and one galaxiid, represents some of the more abundant species in the ichthyofauna of the Beagle Channel. Principal-components analysis (PCA) of the ED of the different organs/tissues indicated that PC(1) and...

Abstract –  Life-history studies comparing landlocked versus diadromous populations reveal factors associated with life-history evolution under different scenarios. We describe several aspects of spawning and development of landlocked Aplochiton zebra in Patagonia (Argentina) based on the presence of eggs, the gonadal development, the analysis of o...

In summer the littoral zone of Lake Rivadavia contained almost all the juveniles of the native fish species present in the lake together with juveniles of the introduced salmonid Oncorhynchus mykiss. In particular, a high degree of foraging interaction was found among juveniles of the native species Aplochiton zebra and Percichthys trucha and juven...

We examined the morphological variability (23 morphometric traits) among individual Galaxias platei (N = 380) collected from 20 postglacial lakes in the southern Andes. The lakes were chosen to cover the latitudinal range of the species in Patagonia. Diet examined for a subset of these fish (N = 261) collected during the summer months (January thro...

The family Galaxiidae exhibits a marked tendency toward morphological variation, particularly in characteristics related to feeding and caudal propulsion. The body shape of Aplochiton zebra from six Andean water bodies was examined and related to diet and to environmental characteristics such as transparency and predation risk. Although adults and...

Aim: The aim of this work is to update the distribution data of Galaxiidae in South America, relating extant distribution to physiological and reproductive characteristics of the species, latitude, temperature, and post-glacial opportunities for colonization. Location: Lakes and rivers of Patagonia. Methods: We compared, and eventually reconsidered...

Aim The aim of this work is to update the distribution data of Galaxiidae in South America, relating extant distribution to physiological and reproductive characteristics of the species, latitude, temperature, and post‐glacial opportunities for colonization. Location Lakes and rivers of Patagonia. Methods We compared, and eventually reconsidered, g...