Embryo-Larval Development of the Sea Urchin Echinometra lucunter Exposed to the Soluble Fraction of Spilled Oil in Northeastern Brazil

JULIANA DOS SANTOS PEREIRA; DEBORA CRISTINA NASCIMENTO DE SANTANA; JOÃO HENRIQUE ALLIPRANDINI DA COSTA; IARA COSTA SOUZA; RAFAEL GARRETT DOLATTO; MARCO TADEU GRASSI; MAGDALENA MONFERRAN; CAMILO DIAS SEABRA PEREIRA; HELEN SADAUSKAS-HENRIQUE

Montevideo

Congreso; SETAC Latin America 15th Biennial Meeting; 2023

SETAC Latin America

Between August 2019 and March 2020, oil slicks appear in more than a thousand Brazilian seashore locations in the Atlantic Ocean. More than 55 marine and coastal Conservation Unities (UC) were affected. One of the UCs reached by the oil slicks was the Environmental Protection Area (EPA) of Costa dos Corais (APACC). The present study evaluated the embryo-larval development of the sea urchin (Echinometra lucunter) exposed to the soluble fraction (WSF) of this oil recovered on the Brazilian coast. The oil WSF was quantified and qualified for its composition of metallic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The sea-urchin were exposed for 42 h to the WSF, and at the end of the test, the EC50- 42 h (effective concentration); NOEC (no observed effect concentration); OEC (observed effect concentration) were determine. Of the 16 analyzed PAHs, phenanthrene; anthracene; and dibenz[a,h]anthracene were found above 1 µg/L. The benzo[a]anthracene; benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, chrysene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene and indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene were above the limits allowed by the Brazilian legislation. Regarding the metallic elements, 7 of the 28 have their concentrations regulated by the Brazilian agency (Cd; Cr; Cu; Ni; Pb; Se; Zn; Au), and, except for Au, all these elements showed concentrations above the legislation. The oil WSF at 100% showed high concentrations of emerging elements (Rb, Ti, Ba,Bi, Mo, Nb, Sn, Sr, V, Y, La, Ce, W, Zr). Compared to the WSF 100%, the fractions 35.01; 45.5; 59.17; and 76.9% caused delayed embryo-larval development. The EC50 – 42 h was 39.45%; the NOEC 0% and the OEC 35.01%. The data obtained showed a high toxic potential of the oil WSF, showing malformations of the embryos in their final stage of pluteus larvae. The oil WSF showed a high concentrations of the PAHs and metals present, which explain the abnormality founded during the embryos development.