Effect of sugarcane vinasse on the hatching of the dormant egg bank of Zooplankton (Cladocera, Copepoda, and Rotifera)

• Grant number: 24/02131-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Laço Portinho
• Grantee: Caroline Nogueira Marcelino
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL-ASSIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Assis. Assis , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The contamination by chemical pollutants threatens the majority of freshwater environments, being crucial to understand their influence on the conservation of aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services. Aquatic invertebrates, such as zooplankton (e.g., microcrustaceans and rotifers), produce dormant eggs, which play a fundamental role in the regeneration and maintenance of ecosystem diversity. In Brazil, the lack of studies on the influence of vinasse, a byproduct of sugarcane, on the hatching of zooplankton dormant eggs is evident, resulting in challenges in implementing practical measures for the recovery of polluted aquatic ecosystems. This project aims to investigate the hypothesis that the exposure of dormant eggs to vinasse reduces the abundance and diversity of invertebrates, negatively impacting their life cycle. Laboratory hatching experiments will be conducted, exposing sediments to different contaminants, to compare the biological response of invertebrates exposed to pollutants with a control treatment at the end of the experiment. The project theme can be considered an extension of the recently approved project by the responsible professor (advisor) on the effect of chemical contaminants on the viability of dormant stages (CNPq/MCTI Call No. 10/2023 - Range A - Emerging Groups, Universal 2023 - process No. 402680/2023-5), and in collaborations on projects carried out in recent years funded by Fapesp (2021/00619-7 and 2019/06291-3). Therefore, this proposal is a natural and necessary consequence of previous projects. In addition to the planned outcomes, our primary goals are: (a) to understand the impacts of vinasse on the hatching and subsequent life cycle of zooplankton hatched from dormant eggs; (b) to encourage the formation of excellence and the development of young scientists.