Evaluation of tropical water sources and mollusks in southern Brazil using microbiological, biochemical, and chemical parameters

• Published in: Ecotoxicology and environmental safety 2012-02, Vol.76 (2), p.153-161
• Main Authors: Souza, Doris Sobral Marques, Ramos, Ana Paula Dores, Nunes, Fabrício Flores, Moresco, Vanessa, Taniguchi, Satie, Guiguet Leal, Diego Averaldo, Sasaki, Silvio Tarou, Bícego, Márcia Caruso, Montone, Rosalinda Carmela, Durigan, Maurício, Teixeira, Adriano Luiz, Pilotto, Mariana Rangel, Delfino, Nicésio, Franco, Regina Maura Bueno, de Melo, Cláudio Manoel Rodrigues, Bainy, Afonso Celso Dias, Barardi, Célia Regina Monte
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenoviridae; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; antioxidants; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers; Bivalvia; Brazil; coasts; coliform bacteria; coprostanol; Cryptosporidium; DDT (pesticide); Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; effluents; Environmental Monitoring - methods; enzymes; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Giardia duodenalis; Giardia lamblia; Hazardous Substances - analysis; Hazardous Substances - metabolism; HCH (pesticide); Hepatitis A virus; Human adenovirus; Humans; Invertebrates; Invertebrates - metabolism; JC polyomavirus; Marine; Marine pollution; Metals - analysis; Metals - chemistry; Metals - metabolism; Mollusca; Mollusca - metabolism; Norovirus; Norovirus - isolation & purification; oocysts; Organic Chemicals - analysis; Organic Chemicals - chemistry; Organic Chemicals - metabolism; Ostreidae - microbiology; Ostreidae - virology; Oyster; oysters; Pesticides - analysis; Pesticides - chemistry; Pesticides - metabolism; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polyomaviridae; Polyomavirus; Protozoan; reactive oxygen species; seawater; Seawater - chemistry; Seawater - microbiology; Seawater - virology; sediments; sewage; Sewage - analysis; shellfish; trace elements; vertebrate viruses; Virus; wastewater treatment; Water Microbiology; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; Water Pollution - analysis; Water Pollution - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 0147-6513; 1090-2414
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2011.09.018

Florianópolis, a city located in the Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil, is the national leading producer of bivalve mollusks. The quality of bivalve mollusks is closely related to the sanitary conditions of surrounding waters where they are cultivated. Presently, cultivation areas receive large amounts of effluents derived mainly from treated and non-treated domestic, rural, and urban sewage. This contributes to the contamination of mollusks with trace metals, pesticides, other organic compounds, and human pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoan. The aim of this study was to perform a thorough diagnosis of the shellfish growing areas in Florianópolis, on the coast of Santa Catarina. The contamination levels of seawater, sediments, and oysters were evaluated for their microbiological, biochemical, and chemical parameters at five sea sites in Florianópolis, namely three regular oyster cultivation areas (Sites 1, 2, and oyster supplier), a polluted site (Site 3), and a heavily polluted site (Site 4). Samples were evaluated at day zero and after 14 days. Seawater and sediment samples were collected just once, at the end of the experiment. Antioxidant defenses, which may occur in contaminated environments in response to the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by organisms, were analyzed in oysters, as well as organic compounds (in oysters and sediment samples) and microbiological contamination (in oysters and seawater samples). The results showed the presence of the following contaminants: fecal coliforms in seawater samples (four sites), human adenovirus (all sites), human noroviruses GI and GII (two sites), Hepatitis A viruses (one site), JC Polyomavirus in an oyster sample from the oyster supplier, Giardia duodenalis cysts, and Cryptosporidium sp oocysts (one site). Among organochlorine pesticides, only DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) were detected in some sediment and oysters samples in very low levels; site 4 had the highest concentrations of total aliphatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) found either in oysters or in sediment samples. The major concentration of fecal sterol coprostanol was found at site 4, followed by site 3. After 14 days of allocation in the four selected sites, there was a significant difference in the enzymes analyzed at the monitored spots. The detection of different contaminants in oysters, seawater, and sediment samples in the present stud