Effect of temperature on histopathological damage caused by Settleable Atmospheric Particulate Matter (SePM)

• Grant number: 24/00062-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Histology
• Principal Investigator: Cléo Alcantara Costa Leite
• Grantee: Julia Helena da Cruz de Paula
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/08491-0 - Atmospheric particulate material and environmental contamination. Impact assessment in the aquatic biota in an integrated ecophysiotoxicological approach, AP.TEM

Abstract

Metallurgical activity has a significant impact on the emission of particulate matter (PM) into the atmosphere and this problem is present in many parts of the world. In Brazil, the region of the Tubarão industrial complex in Vitoria-ES suffers a significant impact from these emissions, making it an important place to study their effects. The composition of PM presents a variable range of metals that can decant (SePM) and generate air-water cross contamination in aquatic ecosystems. This pattern is not observed in the legal framework in various parts of the world (Brazil, Canada, the European Union). However, recent studies indicate that SePM can compromise water quality and directly impact biota. Recently, it has been shown that SePM, at environmentally relevant concentrations, causes sublethal effects in fish, which generates various damaging effects on ecologically relevant functions (oxidative metabolism, ROS management, resistance to hypoxia, innate immunity, stress, etc.). Another complicating factor in the SePM contamination occurring in Vitória is its location in an estuary, a place with large natural fluctuations in physical and chemical parameters that can alter both the metabolism of animals and the bioavailability of SePM metals, and thus their effects. In this project, we will evaluate the impact of temperature on SePM contamination in fish. We will carry out a qualitative and quantitative assessment of histopathological damage in organs of relevance (organs involved in the entry of contaminants and their processing - gills, intestine, liver, and kidneys) in a reference species for this study, the Nile tilapia, O. niloticus. We will test the hypothesis that increased temperature increases the bioavailability of metals in SePM, so that higher temperatures will increase the incidence and severity of damage. The fish will be individually exposed to ecologically relevant concentrations (1g of raw SePM / L) of SePM (96h) at (ecologically relevant) temperatures of 15, 20, and 30 °C (control and contaminated groups at each temperature). This project uses a morphophysiological approach to assess the magnitude of a practical and immediate environmental problem. This study will provide relevant information for discussing the effects of SePM and form the knowledge.