Study of the oyster shell, Crassostrea rhizophorae, as biological indicators for assessing environmental pollution by metals

• Grant number: 24/17923-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Iara da Costa Souza
• Grantee: Thales Augusto Gallo Nordi
• 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

Bivalve mollusks are animals that can be classified as environmental bioindicators since they filter water from their environment to obtain food and other elements necessary for growth, reproduction, and shell formation. Coastal estuaries possess physical and chemical characteristics that facilitate the accumulation of sediments and contaminants, such as settleable atmospheric particulate matter (SAPM), which can contain various compounds, including those of industrial origin. Consequently, oysters and other animals living in contaminated environments can be affected by these contaminants. This project aims to study the shell of the neotropical oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae, using chemical analysis and scanning electron microscopy with microanalysis, to determine whether immobilization of metals and metallic nanoparticles occurs in the shell of this species and if the biomineralization of this mollusk can serve as an efficient biological indicator, providing information about the level of metal pollution in their environment.