MICROPLASTICS IN SHOUTHWEST ATLANTIC CORALS

• Grant number: 24/14155-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Ítalo Braga de Castro
• Grantee: Yasmin Nascimento de Barros
• Host Institution: Instituto do Mar (IMar). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Along with the increase in global population and growing demand for consumer goods, municipal solid waste has emerged as a serious environmental issue. Synthetic polymers such as commercial plastics are at the center of these environmental issues and are widely found in the marine environment as macro, meso, micro and nanoplastics. Densely urbanized areas as well as rivers represent a potential source of these contaminants for a variety of coastal ecosystems, including reef environments. In these ecosystems, the interaction between microplastics and scleractinian corals (key species) can occur through adhesion, ingestion or exposure, allowing their accumulation in the tissues and skeletons of these animals, inducing harmful effects. Faced with the planetary crisis that simultaneously involves pollution and loss of biodiversity, little is known about the interaction between microplastics and corals. This lack is even more alarming if we consider the Brazilian coast, where no systematic study on the subject has been carried out to date. Therefore, the present project aims to establish a baseline on levels of microplastic contamination in coral reefs in the Southwest Atlantic, testing the hypothesis that these coastal reefs are impacted by PM contamination, which is influenced by the degree of urbanization of surrounding areas, distance from the coast, distance from river mouths and bathymetry. The planned approach will employ a standardized methodology for the entire Brazilian coast, providing support for adequate management of these important strongholds of national biodiversity.