Evaluation of the ecotoxicological potential of endocrine disrupt in samples of water and sediment in the presence of humic substances: formulation and application of artificial sediment in ecotoxicological tests

• Grant number: 10/11537-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2010
• End date: September 30, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: André Henrique Rosa
• Grantee: Renata Fracácio Francisco
• Host Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental de Sorocaba. Sorocaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The endocrine disrupters (IE) are an emerging class of contaminants in aquatic systems in Brazil. This fact, coupled with a lack of quality standards for water and for the same issue in current law makes relevant studies related to their behavior and interactions in aquatic systems and their role in biological systems. To this end, the general objectives of this study are: 1) assess the behavior of IE bisphenol A (BA), 17 b-oestradiol (E) and 17 a-ethinyl estradiol (EE) on body-test representative of the water column and sediment in the presence of humic substances (AHS), mimicking real situations, avoiding, therefore, overestimate or underestimate the potential toxicity of them and 2) Establish protocols for possible formulations applicable to sediment toxicity tests to study the behavior pollutant IE. To evaluate the behavior and toxicity of complex IE-SHA in water will be used as test organism the fish Pimephales promelas, considering all stages of life. Sediments, for the same evaluation, will be tested several formulations based on actual conditions, emphasizing the source and concentration of SHA in order to provide reliability in ecotoxicological studies. Sediment in the test organisms will be used epibenthic freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca, considering the entire life cycle and also the F1 generation. The development of experimental protocols to allow the sediments made use of standardized methodology between laboratories and consequently, greater reliability in the comparison of data on concentration-response studies. This work can help in establishing quality standards of endocrine disrupters in water and sediment.