Marcos Antônio Fernandez

Evaluation of cetacean exposure to organotin compounds in Brazilian waters through hepatic total tin concentrations.

In Brazil, there is no restriction to the use of organotins (OTs). Previous investigations have shown that hepatic SigmaSn in cetaceans is predominantly organic. Hepatic SigmaSn concentrations were determined by GFAAS in 67 cetaceans (13 species) that stranded on Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Espirito Santo (ES) states. Concentrations (in ng/g wet wt.) of marine tucuxis (n=20) from the highly contaminated Guanabara Bay (in RJ) varied from 1703 to 9638. Concentrations of three marine tucuxi foetuses and one newborn calf (all from Guanabara Bay) varied between 431 and 2107. Contrastingly, the maximum level among 19 oceanic dolphins was 346, and 15 out of these 19 specimens presented concentrations below detection limit. The levels of Sn in six marine tucuxis from a less contaminated area (ES) varied from below detection limit to 744. Comparing to the literature, coastal cetaceans from Brazil appear to be highly exposed to OTs.

Organotin compounds in the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex, Paraná, Brazil: Evaluation of biological effects, surface sediment, and suspended particulate matter

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Occurrence of imposex in Thais haemastoma: possible evidence of environmental contamination derived from organotin compounds in Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza, Brazil

There are indications that the widespread use of organotin compounds (TBT and TPT) as antifoulings, as stabilizers in plastic and as pesticides, has severely affected several species of marine organisms. The most striking effect of TBT and TPT as hormonal disruptors is the development of male organs in females of gastropods, currently denominated imposex. This syndrome can lead to the sterilization and death of affected organisms. The present work gives an overview of the present state of knowledge on imposex occurrence and reports results of a survey conducted in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro and in several sites along the coast of Fortaleza, Ceará State. Different stages of imposex development were verified in this survey, however, the most prominent levels appeared associated to known spot sources of TBT and TPT.

Thais (Stramonita) rustica (Lamarck, 1822) (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Thaididae), a potential bioindicator of contamination by organotin northeast Brazil

The use of antifouling paints containing the biocide compound tributyltin (TBT) has been shown as an inductor of imposex in neogastropods mollusks. Imposex is characterized by the development of male features in females, mainly the appearance of a no functional vas deferens and penis. Samples of Thais rustica were collected in eight sites in the metropolitan area of Natal city, Rio Grande do Norte state, northeast Brazil, and examined for occurrence of imposex, which was found in many females. The higher imposex levels were presented by samples from sites near city harbor.

Imposex in Thais rustica (Mollusca: Neogastropoda) (Lamark, 1822) as an indicator of organotin compounds pollution at Maceio coast (Northeastern Brazil)

The use of OTC (organotin compounds) as biocides in naval antifouling paints causes impacts on non-target organisms. One of these impacts is a syndrome called imposex in gastropod molluscs. Imposex is the imposition of male secondary sexual characteristics in female gastropods as result of endocrine disruption. In this preliminary study, imposex was observed in four out of ten sampled stations in Maceio: the city Port (100% females exhibited imposex), the Marine Emissary (23% females exhibited imposex), the Marine Terminal (35% females exhibited imposex) and Saco da Pedra beach (12% females exhibited imposex). These stations were distributed in a NE-SW orientation from the Port southwards along the coastline, following the general circulation pattern of the area. The low values of VDSI, RPSI and RPLI indicate that Maceio Coast is a less contaminated area, probably because of low shipping activities together with the fact that the sampling zone is an open coastal system and not an enclosed bay. These results suggest that the imposex development in Thais rustica may be used as a biological indicator of OTC pollution.

Organotin pollution at Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil: increasing levels after the TBT ban

Imposex, an endocrine disruption phenomenon, is a biomarker of tributyltin (TBT) exposure in marine gastropod populations. The occurrence and intensity of the syndrome in populations of the neogastropod Stramonita haemastoma were ascertained at nine sampling stations in October 2008 at Arraial do Cabo, a very important tourist resort in Rio de Janeiro state (Brazil) and part of the Marine Extractive Reserve of Arraial do Cabo. The results obtained made it possible to evaluate the changes which had occurred since the last biomonitoring campaign, undertaken in 2001, at these same stations. Despite the ban on the use of TBT imposed by the Brazilian Navy in 2003, the controls on the use of this agent in Brazil resulting from the establishment of NORMAM 23 by the Navy in 2007 and the complete ban of organotin compounds in antifouling paint formulae by the IMO on a global scale in 2008, imposex was still detected. Instead of the expected reduction, an increase was observed in the areas affected by imposex. Furthermore, populations in the areas seriously affected by imposex in 2001 were absent in the 2008 sampling campaign. These results suggest an increase in TBT pollution in the study area, indicating the inefficacy of legislative measures.

Is aphallic vas deferens development in females related to the distance from organotin sources? A study with Stramonita haemastoma

Imposex, a syndrome characterized by the appearance of a penis and/or vas deferens in female gastropods due the presence of organotins in environment, is still observed in Brazilian gastropod populations, as in other countries, even after the tributyltin (TBT) ban. Nevertheless, the progressive controls on the use of organotins in antifouling systems at national and international levels and the consequent reduction of their environmental concentrations have led to changes in the characteristics of imposex development observed in Stramonita haemastoma. Populations of this species were analyzed on the coast of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) between 2007 and 2008, and the developmental pathways associated with the syndrome were identified. Compared with previous works, it was noted that imposex expression was reduced in most of Guanabara Bay. Aphallic imposex development, on the other hand, showed a marked increase. The pathways of imposex development were also evaluated in a temporal data series from a fixed sampling station at Vermelha beach, and the incidence of aphallic imposex development was found to show a marked increase from 1998 onward. Furthermore, the observation of either the presence or absence of a penis in imposex-affected females may indicate that penis development is related to the contaminant exposure level and that the decreasing TBT concentrations in the local environment result in the predominance of an aphallic route of imposex development. These findings support the idea that imposex female aphally in this species could be a dose-dependent response, rather than a genetic anomaly.

Transplant bioassay induces different imposex responses in two species of the genus Stramonita

Abstract A bioassay to study differential specific responses in imposex development due to marine organotin pollution was done by transplanting specimens of the gastropods Stramonita haemastoma and Stramonita rustica from an imposex-free area to a marina with high marine traffic inside a ship repair yard, a place where local populations of S. haemastoma were known to show high indices of imposex. Three hundred sexually mature, imposex-free specimens of each species were kept in cages for 120 days, and samples of 30 individuals were periodically analysed for imposex development. Shell length, penis length and vas deferens development were recorded and imposex development indices (% imposex, RPLI and VDSI) were calculated. Our results indicated that imposex induction in S. haemastoma is faster and more sensitive than in S. rustica. Imposex incidence in S. haemastoma could be a useful tool for monitoring marine pollution by organotin compounds in harbours along the Brazilian coast.

Organotin pollution from pleasure craft at Paraty, a tourist area of Southeastern Brazil: amelioration or interference?

Alguns compostos organoestânicos, como o TBT, sao desreguladores endocrinos e causam danos aos ecossistemas marinhos. Mesmo apos a proibicao global de organoestânicos, niveis crescentes de imposex foram detectados em individuos Stramonita haemastoma analisados em 2004 e 2011, em Paraty, area turistica no sudeste do Brasil. Os resultados deste estudo indicam que particulas e carbono orgânico dissolvido e xenoestrogenos podem estar interferindo no desenvolvimento dessa sindrome, levando a subestimacao de avaliacao do imposex. A analise quimica de tres sedimentos de mangue na area mostrou a presenca de TBT (16,0-205,7 ng Sn g-1), DBT (10,1-16,4 ng Sn g-1) e MBT (10,1-10,2 ng Sn g-1), mesmo nos locais de referencia. As concentracoes de butilestânicos e o aumento da incidencia de imposex em algumas estacoes indicam entradas recentes de TBT na area estudada devido ao uso ilegal em pequenas embarcacoes.

First record of imposex in Thais deltoidea (Lamarck, 1822) (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Thaididae) in Vitória, ES, Brazil

One of the human activities that introduce chemical substances in the marine environment is the use of antifouling paints on ships hulls. Many formulations of these paints include biocides like organotins as tributyltin (TBT) or triphenyltin (TPT). The use of the organotin compound TBT as biocides in antifoulings for ship hulls or mariculture structures protection, associated or not to TPT, has demonstrated to cause lethal or sublethal damage in many marine species (FENT, 1996), even at ppt concentrations (ALZIEU, 1998). This toxicity has led to a progressive control of the application of organotin compounds in France, in the United Kingdom, in the USA, in Japan, Australia and New Zeeland and also in Germany, Sweden and Demark since the late eighties (CHAMP, 2000). The use of organotins in antifoulings is to be globally banned by IMO (International Maritime Organization - www.imo.org), but the ban originally scheduled to 2003 has not yet entered in force, because the required number of countries ratifying it was reached only by late 2007 (see References for details). These compounds are considered a threat to marine life in areas with intense naval activities and can act as endocrine disruptors in marine invertebrates, mainly gastropods (FIORONI; OEHLMANN; STROBEN, 1991; MATTHIESSEN; GIBBS, 1998; AXIAK et al