Introduction of methodologies for an ecotoxicological assessment of sediments from impacted rivers by anthropogenic activities

• Grant number: 10/11820-0
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2010
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal researcher: Maria Aparecida Marin Morales
• Grantee: Paula Suares Rocha
• Home Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Ecotoxicological studies are important for evaluating the effects and mechanisms of action of toxic agents in different environments. Aquatic sediments have a high potential for accumulating pollutants. As pollutants may become available in certain environmental conditions, the sediments can also become a potential source of contamination to water bodies. Thus, the assessment of sediment quality is essential to understanding the processes governing the fate and availability of pollutants in water bodies. For an efficient sediment ecotoxicology assessment, different approaches are necessary. This project will be develop in the laboratories of Mutagenicity and Toxicity (IB - UNESP - Rio Claro) and aims to: 1) establish in the laboratories three new techniques in ecotoxicology, the Neutral Red assay (cytotoxicity), the EROD assay (EROD activity, CYP1A induction potential) and the sediment contact with fish embryos (acute toxicity and teratogenicity), which will be use for the assessment of the ecotoxicological potential of aquatic sediments, thus also implementing specific techniques of sampling and preparation of sediment samples; 2) deploy methodology for the cultivation of two new test organisms, the cell culture RTL-W1 derived from Oncorhynchus mykiss liver, and the fish D. rerio; 3) evaluate the ecotoxicological effects of sediments from Jaguarí and Atibaia rivers, by means of the bioassays cited above and chemical analyses.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SUARES-ROCHA, PAULA; BRAUNBECK, THOMAS; DE ANGELIS, DEJANIRA DE FRANCHESCHI; MARIN-MORALES, MARIA APARECIDA. Assessment of cytotoxicity and AhR-mediated toxicity in tropical fresh water sediments under the influence of an oil refinery. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, v. 22, n. 16, p. 12566-12575, AUG 2015. Web of Science Citations: 2.