Assessment of crabs from Trindade, a Brazilian remote island: Support to marine studies.

Trindade is a remote island far from 1170 km of the Brazilian coast in the Atlantic Ocean, between South America and South Africa. The island has great biodiversity and scientific studies on the fauna and flora of Trindade are still scarce. Accordingly, since crustacean species of the island are also little known, this research features an unprecedented data set, which provides information on the level of potential toxic elements in two crab species: the Grapsus grapsus (herbivore) and the endemic species Gecarcinus lagostoma (omnivorous) which is in threatened status.

Biomonitoring as a Nature-Based Solution to Assess Atmospheric Pollution and Impacts on Public Health.

The control of air pollution remains a challenge to the planning of cities and fossil fuel burning is the main cause of air degradation. Particulate matter (PM) is the contaminant commonly used as an indicator of pollution, but environmental agencies may face difficulties in operating surveillance networks due to the lack of resources and infrastructure. As an alternative to conventional networks, scientific studies have pointed out that nature itself can contribute to the diagnosis and reduction of air pollution.

Local Society Perception on Ecosystem Services as an Adaptation Strategy in Urban Stream Recovery Programs in the City of São Paulo, Brazil.

Recent public policies in developing countries have emerged to address challenges of delivering water-related ecosystem services in urban areas. Some initiatives, such as the Brazilian Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (BPACC) highlights sustainable urban drainage as a key strategy for promoting sustainable cities, including ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) measures. Despite the importance of these national guidelines, little is known about how the recommendations are incorporated and the provision of ecosystem services are perceived in local initiatives.

Heavy metal concentrations in the benthic trophic web of Martel Inlet, Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctica).

Knowledge of the metals behaviour in the Antarctic environment is important for conserving this continent, which can be impacted by local activities, such as research stations and by atmospheric and oceanic transport over long distances. As, Cd Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn levels and the nitrogen isotope ratio were investigated using benthic samples from Martel Inlet, Admiralty Bay. The results showed the biodilution of As and a tendency of increasing concentrations of Cd and Cu along the trophic web.

Geochemical behavior, environmental availability, and reconstruction of historical trends of Cu, Pb, and Zn in sediment cores of the Cananéia-Iguape coastal system, Southeastern Brazil.

The Cananéia-Iguape system is located in a coastal region of southeastern Brazil, recognized by UNESCO as an Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve. This system has suffered substantial environmental impacts due to the opening of an artificial channel and by past intensive mining activities. In this paper was performed the sequential chemical extraction of Cu, Pb, and Zn, on previously described sediment cores, and the statistical treatment of the data, allowing to estimate the remobilization geochemical behavior, the available content and the trend of accumulation between 1926 and 2008.

A Streamlined Approach by a Combination of Bioindication and Geostatistical Methods for Assessing Air Contaminants and Their Effects on Human Health in Industrialized Areas: A Case Study in Southern Brazil.

Industrialization in developing countries associated with urban growth results in a number of economic benefits, especially in small or medium-sized cities, but leads to a number of environmental and public health consequences. This problem is further aggravated when adequate infrastructure is lacking to monitor the environmental impacts left by industries and refineries. In this study, a new protocol was designed combining biomonitoring and geostatistics to evaluate the possible effects of shale industry emissions on human health and wellbeing.

Tillandsia usneoides: A successful alternative for biomonitoring changes in air quality due to a new highway in São Paulo, Brazil.

Tillandsia usneoides is an aerial epiphytic bromeliad that absorbs water and nutrients directly from the atmosphere by scales covering its surface. We expanded the use of this species as a broader biomonitor based on chemical and structural markers to detect changes in air quality. The usefulness of such comprehensive approach was tested during the construction and opening of a highway (SP-21) in São Paulo State, Brazil.

Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in marine organisms and sediments from Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica.

The Antarctic continent is considered a low-impact environment; however, there is a tendency to increase the contaminants' levels due to human activities in the research stations. In this study, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn levels in sediment and biota were determined in the environmental samples from Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctica) collected in 2003. The results demonstrated high concentrations of Cu and Zn in the sediments.

Environmental availability of potentially toxic elements in estuarine sediments of the Cananéia-Iguape coastal system, Southeastern Brazil.

The Cananéia-Iguape system is located in a Southeastern Brazilian coastal region, acknowledged by UNESCO as Biosphere Reserve of the Atlantic Rainforest. This system underwent important environmental changes due to the opening of the artificial channel of Valo Grande and by past intensive Pb ore mining activities. In view of this scenario, this study evaluated Cu, Pb and Zn availability in sediments from Cananéia-Iguape system, based on the content associated with the main components of the sediments.

Tillandsia usneoides: a successful alternative for biomonitoring changes in air quality due to a new highway in São Paulo, Brazil.

Tillandsia usneoides is an aerial epiphytic bromeliad that absorbs water and nutrients directly from the atmosphere by scales covering its surface. We expanded the use of this species as a broader biomonitor based on chemical and structural markers to detect changes in air quality. The usefulness of such comprehensive approach was tested during the construction and opening of a highway (SP-21) in São Paulo State, Brazil.

Bioaccumulation of potentially toxic trace elements in benthic organisms of Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctica).

Data about the concentration, accumulation and transfer of potentially toxic elements in Antarctic marine food webs are essential for understanding the impacts of these elements, and for monitoring the pollution contribution of scientific stations, mainly in Admiralty Bay due to the 2012 fire in the Brazilian scientific station. Accordingly, the concentration of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn was measured in eight benthic species collected in the 2005/2006 austral summer and the relationship between concentration and trophic position (indicated by δ(15)N values) was tested. A wide variation in metal content was observed depending on the species and the element.

137Cs in marine sediments of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica.

The radionuclide cesium-137 ((137)Cs) is produced exclusively by anthropogenic processes and primarily by nuclear explosions. This study determined the reference inventory that is (137)Cs associated with the element's original input, and utilized the levels of activity of this radionuclide previously measured in five sediment profiles collected from Admiralty Bay, Antarctica, to investigate the mobility of this element in the environment. (137)Cs has a half-life of 30 years.

Multi-molecular markers and metals as tracers of organic matter inputs and contamination status from an Environmental Protection Area in the SW Atlantic (Laranjeiras Bay, Brazil).

The sources and concentrations of aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), faecal and biogenic sterols, and trace metals at 10 sampling sites located in Laranjeiras Bay, a large Environmental Protection Area in the southern Atlantic region of Brazil, were determined to assess the sources of organic matter and the contamination status of estuarine sediments. Organic compounds were determined by GC-FID and GC-MS, and ICP-OES was used to evaluate trace metals. The total AHs concentration ranged from 0.

Bioindication of atmospheric trace metals--with special references to megacities.

After considering the particular problems of atmospheric pollution in megacities, i.e. agglomerations larger than 5 mio.

Arsenic and trace metal contents in sediment profiles from the Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica.

Admiralty Bay (Antarctica) hosts three scientific stations (Ferraz, Arctowski and Macchu Picchu), which require the use of fossil fuel as an energy source. Fossil fuels are also considered the main source of pollution in the area, representing important inputs of major pollutants (organic compounds) and trace metals and metalloids of environmental interest. Accordingly, this work presents the results of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in sediment profiles from Admiralty Bay.