Tarballs on the Brazilian coast in late 2022 sustain Lepas anatifera Linnaeus, 1758 (Crustacea: Cirripedia): Occurrence and risk of petroleum hydrocarbon ingestion.

Since the 2019 oil spill on the northeastern coast of Brazil, oil materials have washed up on the beaches. A characteristic of the recent oil spill that began in late August was that some of the oiled material, such as tarballs, contained the goose barnacle species Lepas anatifera (Cirripedia, Lepadomorpha), which is well-known for its cosmopolitan distribution and wide occurrence in the oceans. The findings of this study provide information on the occurrence and contamination of petroleum hydrocarbons in animals adhered to the surfaces of tarballs sampled from beaches in the Brazilian states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, between September and November 2022. The size of the barnacles varied from 0.122 to 2.20 cm, suggesting that the tarballs had been floating in the ocean for at least a month. All groups of L. anatifera collected from the tarballs had polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present (∑21PAHs from 476.33 to 3816.53 ng g-1). In comparison to high-molecular-weight PAHs, which are primarily from pyrolytic sources, low-molecular-weight PAHs, such as naphthalene and phenanthrene, which are mostly related to petrogenic sources, were shown to be more abundant. In addition, dibenzothiophene, which is exclusive of petrogenic origin, was found in all samples (30.74-537.76 ng g-1). The aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs): n-alkanes, pristane, and phytane were also found and displayed petroleum characteristics. These results highlight the danger of increasing the absorption of petrogenic PAHs and AHs by organisms that use tarballs as substrates. L. anatifera is a crucial component of the food chain because many animals such as crabs, starfish, and gastropods consume it.

Decapod crustaceans from the state of Ceará, northeastern Brazil: an updated checklist of marine and estuarine species, with 23 new records.

The present study is the first major assessment of the marine decapod fauna of Ceará, northeastern Brazil, since contributions of J. Fausto-Filho in the 1960s-1970s. A fully updated checklist of all decapod crustaceans occurring in marine and estuarine habitats of Ceará is provided, based on literature records, specimens held in two carcinological collections of the Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), and material collected mainly by the authors between 2011 and 2014. A total of 337 decapod species are listed, distributed among the following taxa: Achelata (8 species), Anomura (42 species), Astacidea (1 species), Axiidea (11 species), Brachyura (162 species), Caridea (83 species), Dendrobranchiata (20 species), Gebiidea (9 species), and Stenopodidea (1 species). Among them, 23 species represent new records for Ceará, with 14 species, viz. Alpheus peasei (Armstrong, 1940), A. thomasi Hendrix & Gore, 1973, Ambidexter symmetricus Manning & Chace, 1971, Axianassa australis Rodrigues & Shimizu, 1992, Biffarius biformis (Biffar, 1971), B. fragilis (Biffar, 1970), Leptalpheus axianassae Dworschak & Coelho, 1999, L. forceps Williams, 1965, Lysmata bahia Rhyne & Lin, 2006, L. intermedia (Kingsley, 1878), Merhippolyte americana Holthuis, 1961, Neocallichirus maryae Karasawa, 2004, Ogyrides hayi Williams, 1981, and Typton carneus Holthuis, 1951, now having Ceará as the northern-most limit in their distribution range along the Brazilian coastline. One shrimp species, Lysmata lipkei Okuno & Fiedler, 2010, which was also found in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, possibly represents an invasive taxon in Brazil and the western Atlantic, originating from the Indo-West Pacific. Alpheus buckupi Almeida, Terossi, Araújo-Silva & Mantelatto, 2013, previously recorded from Ceará based on a colour photograph, is confirmed from this state, with specimens from several new localities. A few doubtful records from Ceará are briefly discussed. Colour photographs are provided for most of the taxa newly recorded from Ceará; some species are illustrated in colour for the first time.