Benthic macroinvertebrates as a tool for assessing the quality of river water Eta, Ribeira Valley, southern of São Paulo state

• Grant number: 13/13363-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2013
• End date: August 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Giovana Bertini
• Grantee: Mateus Salviano Oliveira Silva
• Host Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Registro. Registro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Agriculture is a major component of the world economy that contributes increasingly marked for degradation of water quality through the release of pollutants such as pesticides, sediments, fertilizers, animal compost, and other sources of organic and inorganic matter. Thus, human action can affect the aquatic environment over the years, reaching the communities of plants and animals living in such places. Thus, this study aims to monitor pesticide residues and make the biomonitoring of benthic macroinvertebrate fauna of the Eta river, located in the Ribeira Valley, the city of Sete Barras - São Paulo, through physical, chemical, and biological, with the purpose of obtaining comparative information on the quality of river water in conservation areas and in regions near banana plantations. The Eta river was chosen to develop the project, as this is born in Intervales Park and during his journey begins to anthropogenic influence, causing vegetation removal from the margins to the banana crop. For this study, the collections will be held monthly throughout the year. The points are distributed along the river at four locations: in a preserved area (point 1), transition area (preserved and cultivated) (point 2), in cultivation area (point 3), and after culture (point 4). During the collection will analyze the physical and chemical parameters of river water and collected a water sample at each point for the analysis of chromatography to identify and quantify the presence of pesticides. Macroinvertebrates will be collected with an effort an hour for each type of methodology (Network Type D (250 ¼ m mesh), sieve, and manual collection). The macroinvertebrate community will be used with bio-indicators of water quality. The chemical and biological analyzes performed in this project will be aimed to detect impacts that may be occurring in the area due to anthropogenic activities. (AU)