Macrofouling on marine litter in a Southwest Atlantic urban tropical bay and surrounds.

Rafting is the transport of marine litter by organisms, influenced by substrate characteristics such as degradation, shape, surface orientation, color, and polymer type. This study focuses on rafting in the Southwest Atlantic, characterizing biofouling on different materials across high- and low-energy beaches. Conducted in Guanabara Bay and Niteroi's oceanic beaches, sampling focused on strandlines.

Distribution of acid-volatile sulfides and simultaneously extracted metals in Guanabara Bay: combination of anthropogenic, sedimentological, and geochemical processes.

Coastal sedimentary systems are affected by continental and marine metal pollutant inputs associated with different hydrodynamic characteristics and geochemical processes. These include the formation of acid-volatile sulfides (AVS) within sediments, which affects metal bioavailability and associated aquatic biota toxicity risks. Physicochemical changes in these environments in the face of extreme natural or man-made environmental influences can dramatically alter metal bioavailability and toxicity through metal binding and immobilization as insoluble sulfides.

Beach sand plastispheres are hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes and potentially pathogenic bacteria even in beaches with good water quality.

Massive amounts of microplastics are transported daily from the oceans and rivers onto beaches. The ocean plastisphere is a hotspot and a vector for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and potentially pathogenic bacteria. However, very little is known about the plastisphere in beach sand.

Microplastics and microfibers in the Guajará Bay, Amazon delta: Potential sources and variability.

The role of Amazon on the transport and as a source of microplastics (MPs) to the ocean is uncertain. This study is an assessment on the distribution of MPs and microfibers (MFs) in a portion of the Amazon delta. Guajará bay is a potential source for surrounding waters, since a metropolis is located at the right margin.

Recovery of ghost crabs metapopulations on urban beaches during the Covid-19 "anthropause".

The majority of government authorities initially responded to COVID-19 pandemic by declaring lockdown to facilitate social distancing and minimize virus spreading. This period termed "anthropause" provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the recovery of wildlife in the absence of stressors on urban ecosystems. We assessed whether the anthropause associated with beach closures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in repopulation of the Atlantic ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) on urban beaches.

Fish biodiversity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul's Archipelago, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Brazil: new records and a species database.

Saint Peter and Saint Paul's Archipelago (SPSPA), one of the smallest and most isolated island groups in the world, is situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, between Brazil and the African continent. SPSPA has low species richness and high endemism; nonetheless, the diversity of fishes from deep habitats (>30 m depth) had not been previously studied in detail. Several expeditions conducted between 2009 and 2018 explored the shallow and deep reefs of SPSPA using scuba, closed-circuit rebreathers, manned submersibles, baited remote underwater stereo-videos (stereo-BRUV) and fishing between 0 and 1050 m depth.

Depuration reduces microplastic content in wild and farmed mussels.

Plastic pollution is a pervasive problem to marine life. This study aimed (1) to investigate levels of microplastic in wild and farmed mussels (Perna perna), and (2) to assess the effectiveness of depuration in reducing microplastics. Wild and farmed mussels were sampled from Guanabara Bay (Southwestern Atlantic).

Sediment quality in a metal-contaminated tropical bay assessed with a multiple lines of evidence approach.

A sediment quality assessment was performed near to the main industrial source of metal contamination in Sepetiba Bay, Brazil, which represents one of the worst cases of trace metal contamination reported for coastal areas. Acute and chronic toxicity tests, benthic fauna community analysis and metal bioavailability evaluations were applied to identify risks to the benthic community. Significant amphipod mortality was observed close to the major pollution source and lower copepod fertility was observed for all stations.

Ecological risk evaluation of sediment metals in a tropical Euthrophic Bay, Guanabara Bay, Southeast Atlantic.

Surface sediments were collected from Guanabara Bay, at 14 stations distributed in five sectors, over three sampling campaigns. Analyses of metals, grain size fractions and total organic carbon analyses were performed. The geo-accumulation index and the enrichment factor were estimated to assess contamination status based on background values.

Deep-sea whale fall fauna from the Atlantic resembles that of the Pacific Ocean.

Whale carcasses create remarkable habitats in the deep-sea by producing concentrated sources of organic matter for a food-deprived biota as well as places of evolutionary novelty and biodiversity. Although many of the faunal patterns on whale falls have already been described, the biogeography of these communities is still poorly known especially from basins other than the NE Pacific Ocean. The present work describes the community composition of the deepest natural whale carcass described to date found at 4204 m depth on Southwest Atlantic Ocean with manned submersible Shinkai 6500.

Secondary production of the fiddler crab Uca rapax from mangrove areas under anthropogenic eutrophication in the Western Atlantic, Brazil.

Fiddler crabs Uca rapax were analyzed in three mangrove areas located in both a lagoon and estuarine system in order to study the influence of eutrophication on their population dynamics and production. Populations at the three sites showed a biased sex ratio. Densities were similar at the three sites, but biomass was higher at the lagoon system.

Changes and variations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations in fish, barnacles and crabs following an oil spill in a mangrove of Guanabara Bay, Southeast Brazil.

On April 26th, 2005, an accident caused a leak of 60,000L of Diesel Oil Type "B", freighted by train wagons upstream on a mangrove area within Guanabara Bay, Southeast Brazil. After the accident, samples from animals with different biological requirements were collected in order to monitor polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentrations for the following 12months. Sessile, mobile, carnivorous, omnivorous, organic detritus feeders, planktivorous and suspension feeders were some of the attributes compared.

Taxonomic sufficiency for soft-bottom sublittoral mollusks assemblages in a tropical estuary, Guanabara Bay, Southeast Brazil.

Guanabara Bay (GB) is considered to be one of the most polluted environments of the southern Brazilian coastline. This typical estuarine system is impacted by the heavy discharge of both industrial and domestic waste from the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. The mollusc community structure and distribution was investigated between 2000 and 2001, using a three month sampling design of 38 stations, according to austral seasons.