Technological development using graphene oxide (GO) has increased in the last years, leading to the release of this contaminant to final sinks, such as estuaries. Due to their potential to flocculate and deposit when interacting with high ionic strength media, GO poses a threat, especially to benthic organisms like polychaetes. In addition to chemical contamination, estuaries also face a severe threat from invasive species, which can cause irreversible damage to ecosystems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of plastic particles in oceans has been recognized as a major environmental concern. The decrease in particle size increases their ability to directly interact with biota, with particles in the nanometer size range (nanoplastics-NPs) displaying a higher ability to penetrate biological membranes, which increases with the decrease in particle size. This study aimed to evaluate the role of life stages in the effects of poly(methyl)methacrylate (PMMA) NPs on the polychaete , a key species in the marine food web and nutrient cycle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlastics, particularly microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), have been regarded as pollutants of emerging concern due to their effects on organisms and ecosystems, especially considering marine environments. However, in terms of NPs, there is still a knowledge gap regarding the effects of size and polymer on marine invertebrates, such as benthic organisms. Therefore, this study aimed to understand, regarding behavioural, physiological, and biochemical endpoints (neurotransmission, energy metabolism, antioxidant status, and oxidative damage), the effects of 50 nm waterborne polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) NPs (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
November 2022
Contamination with Arsenic, a toxic metalloid, is increasing in the marine environment. Additionally, global warming can alter metalloids toxicity. Polychaetes are key species in marine environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe impact of hazardous materials, such as Hg, on life is far from being understood and due to the high number of polluted sites it has generated great concern. A biochemical and lipidomic approach was used to assess the effects of Hg on the saltmarsh halophyte Halimione portulacoides. Plants were collected at two sites of a Hg contaminated saltmarsh.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolychaetes are known to be good bioindicators of marine pollution, such as inorganic contamination. Major and trace elements are commonly present in sediment and may be accumulated by polychaetes such as the tubiculous . In this study, individuals were collected in the autumn, winter, spring, and summer of 2018/2019 from the Ria de Aveiro lagoon (western Portugal) to understand how seasonality influences element accumulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClimate change events, such as drought, are increasing and soil bacteria can be severely affected. Moreover, the accumulation of emerging pollutants is expected to rapidly increase, and their impact on soil organisms, their interactions, and the services they provide is poorly known. The use of graphene oxide (GO) has been increasing due to its enormous potential for application in several areas and it is expected that concentration in soil will increase in the future, potentially causing disturbances in soil microorganisms not yet identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlastic pollution is a serious problem in aquatic systems throughout the world. Despite the increasing number of studies addressing the impact of macro- and microplastics on biota, there is still a significant knowledge gap regarding the effects of nanoplastics alone and in combination with other contaminants. Among the aquatic contaminants that may interact with nanoplastics is arsenic (As), a metalloid found in estuarine and coastal ecosystems, pernicious to benthic organisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlastic debris are dispersed in the marine environment and are consequently available to many organisms of different trophic levels, including sediment-dwelling organisms such as polychaetae. Plastic degradation generates micro (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) and as well as releases bounded plastic additives, increasing the ecotoxicological risk for marine organisms. Therefore, this review summarizes current knowledge on the accumulation and effects of MPs and NPs and plastic additives in polychaetes, derived from laboratory and field evidences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlastic pollution in aquatic environments is present in all compartments from surface water to benthic sediment, becoming a topic of emerging concern due to the internalization, retention time, and its effects on aquatic biota. Crustacea with nearly 70,000 species, broad distribution and different roles in the trophic webs is a significant target of the increasing plastic pollution. At least 98 publications in the last 10 years report the impact of plastics in crustaceans, all suggesting that this taxon is at high risk for ecosystem disadvantage by plastic contamination loads.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethods Mol Biol
April 2022
The polychaete Diopatra neapolitana is a cosmopolitan annelid that can robustly regenerate both its anterior and posterior body part depending on the position of the amputation. Previous studies demonstrated that body regeneration represents a sensitive and unspecific response to environmental stresses, including contaminants and climate alterations.The posterior body regeneration of D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNumerous applications exist for graphene-based materials, such as graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets. Increased concentrations of GO nanosheets in the environment have the potential to have a large negative effect on the aquatic environment, with consequences for benthic organisms, such as polychaetes. The polychaete Hediste diversicolor mobilises the sediments, hence altering the availability of contaminants and the nutrients biogeochemical cycle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOcean acidification (OA) has received more attention in the marine research community in recent years than any other topic. Excess carbon dioxide makes the ocean more acidic, threatening marine ecosystems. There has been little research on the impact of OA on crustaceans, particularly on their physiological and potential ecosystem-level consequences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVolatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) have been reported to be produced by many bacterial species. Depending on the compound, they can negatively influence some organisms (fungi, nematodes and insects) or promote plant growth. Some of these compounds have also been hypothesized to play a role in bacterial response to cadmium (Cd) induced stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is currently assumed that climate change related factors pose severe challenges to biodiversity maintenance. This paper assesses the multi-stressor effects of elevated temperature (15 °C as control, 25 °C as elevated) and CO levels (pH 8.1 as control, 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious studies suggested the suitability of the brackish-water serpulid (Ficopomatus enigmaticus) to be used as model organism for both marine and brackish waters monitoring, by the performance of sperm toxicity and larval development assays. The present study focused on larval development after the exposure of two F. enigmaticus populations (Mediterranean and Atlantic, collected in Italy and Portugal, respectively) to different trace elements (copper, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and lead) at different concentrations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe contamination of aquatic environments has been the focus of research to understand effects on ecosystems and its species. Benthic organisms are considered potential targets since sediments act as sources and sinks for environmental contaminants. This review presents information on the effects of three types of emerging contaminants: pharmaceuticals (tested concentrations between 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCoral reefs are one of the most diverse, complex and productive marine ecosystems on the planet. Global climate change and other anthropogenic impacts have had a strong impact on the equilibrium of these ecosystems and causing the denominated "coral reef crisis". One consequence of coral reef crisis is the phase shift in reef communities, where scleractinian corals responsible for the bioconstruction of the coralline building are replaced by macroalgae or soft corals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFα,β-unsaturated aldehydes are generally reported as being toxic, however for saturated aldehydes information is scarce. Here we report the effects on growth and biochemical endpoints related to oxidative stress of Rhizobium colonies under airborne exposure to C6 to C13 saturated aliphatic aldehydes and exposed or not to Cd. Smaller aldehydes (C6 to C10) and larger aldehydes (C11 to C13) had distinct effects on cell biochemistry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlastic debris has been reaching the world's oceans since it started being used. Multiple studies have been addressing the effects of microplastics in various organisms but, despite the increased scientific awareness, there is still a significant gap in knowledge when it comes to small-sized plastic particles of sizes below 100 nm. The aim of this study was to understand the effect of waterborne 100 nm polystyrene nanoplastics (PS NPs) on the marine polychaeta Hediste diversicolor, a keystone species in intertidal and coastal environments, in terms of behavior, neurotransmission, oxidative status, energy metabolism and oxidative damage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) are produced by plants, fungi, bacteria and animals. These compounds are metabolites originated mainly in catabolic reactions and can be involved in biological processes. In this study, the airborne effects of five monoterpenes (α-pinene, limonene, eucalyptol, linalool, and menthol) on the growth and oxidative status of the rhizobial strain Rhizobium leguminosarum E20-8 were studied, testing the hypothesis that these VOCs could influence Rhizobium growth and tolerance to cadmium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConcentrations of the paralytic shellfish toxins GTX6, C1+2, GTX5, C3+4, dcSTX, dcNEO and dcGTX2+3 were determined by LC-FLD in composite samples of whole soft tissues of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), cockles (Cerastoderma edule) and razor shells (Solen marginatus) after exposure to a Gymnodinium catenatum bloom. Specimens were harvested weekly during three months under natural depuration conditions in the Mira branch of Aveiro lagoon, Portugal. Under the decline of G.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRhizobia have a significant agronomic and environmental role and are eminent contributors to soil fertility. However, this group of microorganisms are affected by various environmental stresses, such as Cd contamination. High Cd concentrations change bacterial metabolism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study reports metal and arsenic contamination in sediments, as well as element accumulation and partitioning in the polychaete Diopatra neapolitana in the Ria de Aveiro lagoon (Portugal). The polychaetes biochemical performance and tissue regenerative capacity were also evaluated. The concentration of elements in sediments showed an increase of contamination among areas (areas A-G), but higher bioaccumulation was observed in organisms from a less contaminated area (area C, BAF>1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol
November 2016
Several authors identified polychaetes as a group of marine invertebrates that respond rapidly to anthropogenic stressors. Furthermore, several studies have demonstrated that environmental pollution lead to the impoverishment of benthic communities with species replacement and biodiversity loss, but very few studies have investigated biochemical and physiological alterations that species undergo in response to Arsenic (As) exposure. Therefore, the present study assessed the toxicity induced in the polychaete Diopatra neapolitana after a long-term (28days) exposure to different As concentrations (0.
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