Morphological variations and population biology of amphipod Sunampithoe pelagica (Milne-Edwards, 1830) associated with Sargassum sp. on rocky shores with different sources of pollution

• Grant number: 16/10370-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2016
• End date: July 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Fosca Pedini Pereira Leite
• Grantee: Ana Laura Lorenço Olivino
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The marine environment is constantly affected by human activities, pollution from domestic sewage and industrial waste has affected the biological substrates and its fauna. Brown algae such as Sargassum, can accumulate heavy metals in their tissues and end up directly affecting fitness amphipods herbivores that use it in their diet. As a result of pollution, the organisms may have increased mortality, decreased growth and reproductive success. Due to the sensitivity of these organisms to a variety of pollutants, they are considered good indicators of environmental quality. Thus, in order to investigate whether changes in morphological parameters and fertility rates in pelagica Sunampithoe populations are related to pollution caused by human activities, samples were collected in winter and summer period in four beaches located on Flamengo cove , Ubatuba, north coast of São Paulo, with different distances from a pollution focus.