Assessment of water quality in coastal waters of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil : biomarker analyses in Amphistegina lessonii
Date
2012
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
GeoScienceWorld
Abstract
Symbiont-bearing foraminiferal assemblages from reef
environments have proven useful as ecological indicators for
water quality. Studies with other organisms have utilized
cellular biomarkers to elucidate mechanisms of stress
response. Our goal was to combine these approaches,
focusing on populations of the symbiont-bearing foraminifer
Amphistegina lessonii from Fernando de Noronha Archipelago
(northeastern Brazil). Reef-rubble samples containing A.
lessonii were collected at five sampling sites on the leeward
side of the main island. Three sites were located inside and
two outside the Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park
(FNNMP) area. Foraminifers were evaluated regarding their
density, degree of bleaching, antioxidant capacity against
peroxyl radicals (ACAP), lipid peroxidation (LPO), protein
carbonylation (PC), and concentrations of metallothioneinlike
proteins (MTs). Densities of A. lessonii were lower at
sites located outside the FNNMP, compared with those inside
the FNNMP, where the maximum average was 159±29
individuals/100 cm2. In individuals from sites located outside
FNNMP, bleaching frequency reached 25%, though ,2%; at
FNNMP sites (,1.8%;). ACAP was higher (two-fold) in
individuals collected at the FNNMP sites, which showed
lower LPO and PC levels. MTs concentration did not differ
significantly among sites. Zinc, copper, and lead concentrations
were very high at stations located outside FNNMP.
Dissolved organic carbon concentration was high at all
sampling sites. Redundancy analysis revealed a strong
correlation between biomarkers and water quality among
sampling sites. These results show that the biomarker
approach would be effective in identifying impacted areas
and underlying causes, providing a reliable diagnostic for
environment health.
Description
item.page.type
Journal Article (peer-reviewed)
item.page.format
Text
Keywords
BIOMARKER ANALYSES, AMPHISTEGINA LESSONII, WATER QUALITY, BRAZIL, BIOLOGICAL MARKERS, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Citation
de Freitas Prazeres, M., Eslava Martins, S., & Bianchini, A. (2012). Assessment of water quality in coastal waters of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil: biomarker analyses in Amphistegina lessonii. Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 42(1), 56-65.