Gilberto Fillmann

Is marine debris ingestion still a problem for the coastal marine biota of southern Brazil

The accumulation of synthetic debris in marine and coastal environments is a consequence of the intensive and continuous release of these highly persistent materials. This study investigates the current status of marine debris ingestion by sea turtles and seabirds found along the southern Brazilian coast. All green turtles (n=34) and 40% of the seabirds (14 of 35) were found to have ingested debris. No correlation was found between the number of ingested items and turtles size or weight. Most items were found in the intestine. Plastic was the main ingested material. Twelve Procellariiformes (66%), two Sphenisciformes (22%), but none of the eight Charadriiformes were found to be contaminated. Procellariiformes ingested the majority of items. Plastic was also the main ingested material. The ingestion of debris by turtles is probably an increasing problem on southern Brazilian coast. Seabirds feeding by diverse methods are contaminated, highlighting plastic hazard to these biota.

Global pollution monitoring of butyltin compounds using skipjack tuna as a bioindicator

Butyltin compounds (BTs) including mono- (MBT), di- (DBT), tri-butyltin (TBT) and total tin (sigmaSn), were determined in the liver of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) collected from Asian offshore waters (off-Japan, the Japan Sea, off-Taiwan, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, off-Philippines, off-Indonesia, the Bay of Bengal), off-Seychelles, off-Brazil and open seas (the North Pacific). BTs were detected in all the skipjack tuna collected, suggesting widespread contamination of BTs even in offshore waters and open seas on a global scale. Considering specific accumulation, Sex-, body length- differences and migration of skipjack tuna did not seem to affect BT concentrations, indicating rapid reflection of the pollution levels in seawater where and when they were collected. Skipjack tuna is a suitable bioindicator for monitoring the global distribution of BTs in offshore waters and open seas. High concentrations of BTs were observed in skipjack tuna from offshore waters around Japan, a highly developed and industrialized region (up to 400 ng/g wet weight). Moreover skipjack tuna collected from offshore waters around Asian developing countries also revealed the levels comparable to those in Japan (up to 270 ng/g wet weight) which may be due to the recent improvement in economic status in Asian developing countries. High percentages (almost 90%) of BTs in total tin (sigmaSn: sum of inorganic tin+organic tin) were found in the liver of skipjack tuna from offshore waters around Asian developing countries. This finding suggests that the anthropogenic BTs represent the major source of Sn accumulation in skipjack tuna from these regions.

Anthropogenic organic matter inputs indicated by sedimentary fecal steroids in a large South American tropical estuary (Paranaguá estuarine system, Brazil).

Urban sewage is considered one of the most important sources of marine pollution in South America, because most coastal cities do not have proper facilities to treat and dispose of sewage. The Paranaguá estuarine system is an important estuarine environment of the South American coast where fishing, urban and tourist activities, industries and the main Brazilian grain shipping port are potential sources of pollution in this area. The anthropogenic input of sedimentary organic matter, represented by sewage contribution, was evaluated by fecal steroid concentrations. The coprostanol levels were comparatively low (<0.10 μg g(-1)), except at the sites close to Paranaguá city, where the coprostanol concentration reached 2.22 μg g(-1) showing strong sewage contamination. Fecal steroid levels were comparable to the lower to midrange concentrations reported for coastal sediments worldwide. The results of this work demonstrated that sewage pollution can be considered a problem for a small part of the Paranaguá estuary.

Organotin contamination in South American coastal areas

Organotin compounds (OTs) were used in antifouling paints for more than four decades. However, due to their widespread intensive use and high toxicity, undesirable effects in non-target marine organisms have been detected since the early 1980s. Consequently, the International Maritime Organization banned new maritime applications of these products on January 1, 2003 and their presence on ship hulls from January 1, 2008. Although extensively studied in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia, environmental levels and effects of organotin contamination are still poorly known for South America. Thus, the current review aimed to present the actual status of this problem in South America by summarizing and comparing the available data in the literature. An overview of the OTs concentrations in sediment and biota and their effects, mainly imposex in marine gastropods, are presented. This work showed that in Atlantic coastal areas of South America there are “hot spots” of OTs contamination, similar to that observed in industrialized countries of Northern Hemisphere. On the other hand, the number of accomplished studies in the Pacific coast is extremely low. Despite the limitation on studies about OTs environmental levels and their related effects, the available data pointed out for a widespread TBT contamination along the South American coastal areas. Therefore, the establishment of baselines of organotin contamination in the Pacific coast and the implementation of temporal trend studies in the South American coastal areas is crucial to verify the effectiveness of local regulations and OTs global ban, and to map the most sensitive areas related to present and future antifouling impacts.

Natural and anthropogenic sterols inputs in surface sediments of Patos Lagoon, Brazil

The Patos Lagoon, the largest coastal lagoon in the world, has long been receiving considerable anthropogenic input resulting from urban, rural and industrial activities. Thus, sewage contamination possibly originating from the more than 2 million inhabitants living within its drainage basin is examined in this study. Sediment samples collected from various points along the Lagoon were extracted, purified and analysed by GC-MS. Ten different sterols and ketones, including coprostanol and epicoprostanol, were identified and quantified. The highest coprostanol concentration was found near Porto Alegre City (1,423 ng g-1 dry wt.), whilst most sediment levels ranged between < DOL and 91.78 ng g-1. The highest concentrations were found at those three sites located closest to domestic outfalls though levels tended to decrease with distance from the sources. The 5b/(5b+5a) isomeric ratios indicated sewage-contaminated sediments near Porto Alegre City, while the epicoprostanol/coprostanol ratio showed values characteristic of untreated sewage input.

Co-exposure of the organic nanomaterial fullerene C60 with benzo(a)pyrene in Danio rerio (zebrafish) hepatocytes: Evidence of toxicological interactions

Compounds from the nanotechnology industry, such as carbon-based nanomaterials, are strong candidates to contaminate aquatic environments because their production and disposal have exponentially grown in a few years. Previous evidence shows that fullerene C60, a carbon nanomaterial, can facilitate the intake of metals or PAHs both in vivo and in vitro, potentially amplifying the deleterious effects of these toxicants in organisms. The present work aimed to investigate the effects of fullerene C60 in a Danio rerio (zebrafish) hepatocyte cell lineage exposed to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in terms of cell viability, oxidative stress parameters and BaP intracellular accumulation. Additionally, a computational docking was performed to investigate the interaction of the fullerene C60 molecule with the detoxificatory and antioxidant enzyme πGST. Fullerene C60 provoked a significant (p<0.05) loss in cellular viability when co-exposed with BaP at 0.01, 0.1 and 1.0 μg/L, and induced an increase (p<0.05) in BaP accumulation in the cells after 3 and 4h of exposure. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cells exposed to BaP were diminished (p<0.05) by the fullerene addition, and the increase of the GST activity observed in the BaP-only treated cells was reduced to the basal levels by co-exposure to fullerene. However, despite the potential of the fullerene molecule to inhibit π GST activity, demonstrated by the computational docking, the nanomaterial did not significantly (p>0.05) alter the enzyme activity when added to GST purified extracts from the zebrafish hepatocyte cells. These results show that fullerene C60 can increase the intake of BaP into the cells, decreasing cell viability and impairing the detoxificatory response by phase II enzymes, such as GST, and this latter effect should be occurring at the transcriptional level.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and organochlorine compound levels in brown trout (Salmo trutta) from Andean Patagonia, Argentina

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDTs and endosulfan residues were analyzed in muscle, liver, gonads, gills and stomach content of brown trout (Salmo trutta) from the Andean Patagonia. PBDEs, PCBs and DDTs levels were positively correlated with lipid content, while less hydrophobic endosulfans showed a poor correlation. Endosulfan levels were about 99.9% of total contaminant (highest levels in liver 500×10(3)ng g(-1) lipid weight), with α-/β-isomers ratio >1 in all organs. These results are in agreement to the current-use of the technical endosulfan and also suggest acute exposure to this insecticide. Conversely, DDT/DDE ratio reflects fish exposure to old DDT sources, showing a DDE predominance. Gills had the highest levels of DDTs, PCBs and PBDEs, indicating they represent the main uptake pathway for such hydrophobic compounds from water column. PCBs showed the lowest levels in all organs and the PBDEs/PCBs ratios >1 agree with worldwide trends. PBDEs levels in gonads, gills, liver and muscle exceeded 80 ng g(-1) (lipid weight) and were higher than other values reported in the Southern Hemisphere. BDE-47 was the predominant congener, suggesting higher bioaccumulation potential and possible brown trout metabolism of higher congeners. Since there is no point source of PBDEs in the region and residues were dominated by lower brominated congeners, atmospheric transport could be the main source of these compounds. This first report of PBDEs levels in fish from Argentina contributes to the knowledge about environmental trends of these persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in remote areas such as the Andean Patagonia.

Multiple biomarker responses in Prochilodus lineatus subjected to short-term in situ exposure to streams from agricultural areas in Southern Brazil.

In order to assess the quality of streams susceptible to contamination by pesticides we apply biochemical and genotoxic biomarkers in the Neotropical fish Prochilodus lineatus submitted to in situ tests. Fish were caged, for 96 h, in two streams located in areas with intensive use of pesticides, the Apertados (AP) and the Jacutinga (JC), and in a small stream (Godoy stream — GD) found inside a forest fragment adjacent to a State Park. Biochemical parameters, such as biotransformation enzymes 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), non-protein thiols (NPSH), lipoperoxidation (LPO), protein carbonylation (PCO) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were evaluated in various fish organs, as well as genotoxic biomarkers (damage to DNA and occurrence of micronuclei and erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities). Samples of water and sediment were collected for analysis of metals (Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni, Mn, Cd and Zn), organochloride pesticides, and triazine and glyphosate herbicides. We observed an increase in liver GST activity in fish at AP and gill GST activity in fish at JC. An increase in liver LPO was also observed in fish exposed to AP and JC. The same animals also exhibited increased DNA damage and erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities (ENAs) compared to the fish kept in GD. A number of compounds showed concentrations higher than the permitted levels, in particular, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), its metabolites dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), heptachloride, diclofluanid and aldrins. These pesticides were detected at higher concentrations in water and sediment samples from AP, followed by JC and GD. The Integrated Biomarker Response Index (IBR) indicated that AP and JC (AP: 21.7 > JC: 18.5 > GD: 12.6) have the worst environmental quality. Integrated biomarker analysis revealed that the alterations observed related well with the levels of environmental contaminants, demonstrating the effectiveness of this biomonitoring approach.

High tributyltin and imposex levels in the commercial muricid Thais chocolata from two Peruvian harbor areas.

The first appraisal of butyltin (BT) contamination linked with imposex incidence in Peruvian coastal areas was performed in the present study. Imposex occurrence and BT levels in female bodies were analyzed in the rock snail Thais chocolata distributed along 10 sites in areas under the influence of Callao and Chimbote Harbors. Imposex levels associated to high tributyltin (TBT) concentrations were observed in six of 10 studied sites, and the highest imposex levels were seen in gastropods collected near the harbor terminals. Tributyltin concentrations were the highest reported for gastropod mollusks (up to 662 ng Sn g(-1)) in recent studies. Although TBT-based antifouling paints have been banned globally (International Maritime Organization, 2008), the combination of high imposex and TBTs level with butyltin degradation index values indicated fresh TBT inputs in these Peruvian coastal areas. Thus, the need to implement local regulatory strategies related to the use of TBT-free antifouling paints is urgent, as is a thorough assessment of the effectiveness of the TBT global ban. Moreover, the wide distribution of T. chocolata combined with its capability to elicit imposex and bioaccumulate BTs renders this a good sentinel species for TBT contamination along the western South American coast.

Input of organic matter in a large south american tropical estuary (Paranaguá Estuarine System, Brazil) indicated by sedimentary sterols and multivariate statistical approach

O Estuario de Paranagua e um dos ambientes mais importantes da costa Sul-Americana. A ocupacao urbana, a pesca, o turismo, as industrias, a introducao de esgoto e o principal porto de exportacao de graos do Brasil sao fontes de impactos ambientais. As fontes de materia orgânica sedimentar foram avaliadas atraves das concentracoes de esterois, obtidas por cromatografia gasosa acoplada a espectrometria de massas (GC-MS). Os niveis de coprostanol foram comparativamente baixos, exceto proximo da cidade de Paranagua, onde as altas concentracoes indicaram contaminacao de esgotos. A analise de componentes principais mostrou a distincao entre os esterois de origem marinha (colesterol, colestanol, estigmasterol e campesterol), fecal (coprostanol e epicoprostanol) e aportes terrigenos (β-sitosterol). A composicao dos esterois nos sedimentos indicou predominio de materia orgânica marinha associada ao fitoplâncton. Contribuicoes terrigenas foram verificadas proximas a manguezais, rios e pequenas baias nao contaminadas. Contribuicao de esgotos e restrita ao entorno da cidade de Paranagua. The Paranagua Estuarine System is one of the most important environments of the South American coast. Fishing, urban and tourist activities, industries, sewage and the main shipping port for the export of grains in Brazil are sources of environmental impacts. The sources of sedimentary organic matter were evaluated by sterol concentrations which were obtained by gas chromatography with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). The coprostanol levels were comparatively low, except at sites close to Paranagua City, where high concentrations have shown sewage contamination. The principal component analysis showed the distinction between sterols from marine (cholesterol, cholestanol, stigmasterol and campesterol), fecal (coprostanol and epicoprostanol) and terrigenous inputs (β-sitosterol). The sterol composition of the sediments indicated that the estuary system is an embayment dominated by inputs of marine organic matter associated with phytoplankton. Terrestrial inputs were detected only at sites close to mangroves, uncontaminated rivers and semi-closed inlets. Fecal input is restricted around Paranagua City.