Scholarship 24/13939-8 - Contaminação, Microplásticos - BV FAPESP
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Microplastics in different environmental matrices from Santos Estuarine System (SES): a seasonal assessment

Grant number: 24/13939-8
Support Opportunities:Scholarships in Brazil - Master
Start date until: January 01, 2025
End date until: May 31, 2026
Field of knowledge:Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
Principal Investigator:Ítalo Braga de Castro
Grantee:Felipe Rodrigues Borges
Host Institution: Instituto do Mar (IMar). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil
Associated research grant:22/14011-3 - Bivalve molluscs as contemporary and historical sentinels of microplastic contamination, AP.R

Abstract

Sentinel species are biological monitors that accumulate contaminants in their tissues without necessarily manifesting significant adverse effects. In the context of marine and coastal contamination by microplastics (MPs), several groups of organisms have been used as sentinels. Among these groups, filter-feeding bivalve molluscs have been widely and frequently used. In fact, good sentinels need to be able to reflect contamination levels observed in other abiotic environmental matrices, such as water and sediments. Despite this, few studies have assessed how much the accumulation of MPs by these organisms represents seasonal contamination of abiotic matrices. In this context, the final portion of the Santos estuary presents a known gradient of environmental contamination by microplastics, demonstrated based on biota assessments, constituting a suitable area for carrying out studies of this nature. Therefore, the present project aims to evaluate and compare spatial and temporal contamination by MPs in water, sediment and biota along the contamination gradient of the Santos Estuarine System. To this end, samples of water, surface sediments and filter-feeding bivalves (Crassostrea brasiliana) will be collected, seasonally, along points distributed in the mentioned gradient during one year. Then, concentrations, polymeric composition, size, shape, color of the MPs will be determined, aiming for univariate and multivariate statistical comparisons between the different matrices. Based on this approach, it is expected to identify seasonal differences and/or similarities in the degree of contamination in different abiotic matrices and biota.

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