Settleable atmospheric particulate matter affects cardiorespiratory responses to hypoxia in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

DE ANGELIS, C.F.; SOARES, M.P.; CARDOSO, I.L.; FILOGONIO, R.; TAYLOR, E.W.; MCKENZIE, D.J.; SOUZA, I.C.; WUNDERLIN, D.A.; MONFERRÁN, M.V.; FERNANDES, M.N.; LEITE, C.A.C.

COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY. TOXICOLOGY & PHARMACOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC

Año: 2022 vol. 257

1532-0456

tmospheric particulate matter (APM) emitted by iron ore processing industries has a complex composition, including diverse metallic particles and nanoparticles. Settleable APM (SePM) causes air to water crosscontamination and has recently been demonstrated to have harmful sublethal impacts on fish, eliciting stress responses, affecting the immune system, and reducing blood oxygen-carrying capacity. These findings imply potential consequences for fish aerobic erformance and energy allocation, particularly in their ability to tolerate respiratory challenges such as aquatic hypoxia. To assess that potential limitation, we analyzed metabolic, cardiorespiratory, and morphological alterations after exposing tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, to an environmentally relevant concentration of SePM (96 h) and progressive hypoxia. The contamination initiated detectable gill damage, reducing respiratory efficiency, increasing ventilatory effort, and compromising fish capacity to deal with hypoxia. E