Response of Crassostrea rhizophorae to metal and metalloid environmental contamination: Integrating Chemical and Biological Data by Chemometrics

DA COSTA SOUZA IARA; M.M. BONOMO; AZEVEDO, V.C; M MONFERRAN; MATSUMOTO S.T; C.R.D. MILANEZ; DANIEL A. WUNDERLIN; FERNANDES, M.N

Barcelona

Congreso; SETAC Europe 25th Annual Meeting; 2015

SETAC

In this study, chemical and physical parameters were analyzed in two Brazilianestuaries, Vitoria bay (sites: Santa Maria, Serra and Lameirão) and Santa Cruz bay impacted by metal contamination, to assess the bioavailability of metals and their accumulation in the soft tissue of the oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae. Levels of B, Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ag, Cd, Pb and Hg in surface water and oyster soft tissue were correlated with exposure and biochemical biomarkers and histopathological change indexes in the gills. The use of physical and chemical analysis integrated with biomarkers provided cause and effect data of environmental conditions and metal contamination in the resident organisms. The GPA analysis allowed the observation of a seasonal difference in Santa Maria and the rain influence in areas with high riverine input. This method, when integrated with biological data showed a high efficacy in area differentiation, showing that biological alterations are correlated with environmental physical and chemical conditions. In addition, the biochemical mechanisms were effective in metal elimination, especially metallothionein, while the oyster morphology were affected mainly by environmental data, such as salinity