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. Although Trindade has experienced contamination from human activities, mainly plastic debris, the element levels found in the samples suggest that there are no relevant inorganic sources into the island. Since minor and trace elements accumulated by marine invertebrates does not present a pattern behavior, our results can support other studies focused on the impact of global warming to the marine ecosystem.

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. We aim to explore stakeholders' perception of ecosystem services in relation to public urban programs for improving the local environment through EbA measures. For this, we studied a stream revitalization project in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, as an emblematic case by integrating three public programs: re-urbanization of irregular settlements, implementation of linear parks and cleansing of urban streams. Our methods involved literature review, documentary data, field surveys and semi-structured interviews with local populations, public agents, and NGOs. Despite some positive results of supplying ecosystem services, we recommend that local programs expand the scope of EbA measures based on BPACC guidelines, strengthen the specific objectives of the three individual public programs and better manage public resources, especially in the context of promoting resilient cities in developing countries. At the same time, local programs can teach lessons and show opportunities for improving national guidelines on climate change adaptation.

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. Nature-based solutions (NbS) are proposals that use natural processes and structures to meet different environmental challenges. In this study, biomonitoring with Tillandsia usneoides was applied as a NbS tool to evaluate air quality in an important port urban area in the city of Guarujá, Brazil, affected by industrial and vehicular emissions. It was observed that cadmium mass fractions were at least forty times higher than the control area with one-month exposition.

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. Biomagnification was verified only for Zn, and this was attributed to its essentiality to the biota, and to the acting of metallothioneins proteins that participate in homeostasis, store and detoxify metals. These results can be used as baseline levels for the biota in the Antarctic region and assist the monitoring and management work developed by the Brazilian INCT-APA (National Institute of Science and Technology for Environmental Research Antarctic).

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. The maximum available level (sum of all mobile fraction) were, in mgkg-1, 18.74 for Cu, 177.55 for Pb and 123.03 for Zn. Considering its environmental availability, Pb remains a concern in the system. It was possible to recognize the anthropic contribution of Pb, being the mining activities considered the only potential source of this metal in the region.

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. The biomonitoring study was performed from 2009 to 2012, thus comprising the period during construction and after the highway inauguration. Metal accumulation and structural alterations were assessed, in addition to microscopy analyses to understand the metal chelation in plant tissues and to assess the causes of alterations in the number and shape of scale cells. Altogether, our analyses support the use of this species as a wide biomonitor of air quality in urbanized areas.

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. There was bioaccumulation of As in the biota from Admiralty Bay and bioaccumulation of Zn specifically in the biota from Martel Inlet. In addition, the results were useful in order to understand the heavy metal levels for the pre-accident condition of Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station, where an accident occurred in 2012, and also for the comparison with current conditions within the monitoring work developed by INCT-APA (National Institute of Science and Technology for Environmental Research Antarctic).

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. Moreover, in order to assess local contamination, the metals' contents were compared to Canadian quality guidelines, the past levels of metals preceding the mining activities and background sediment values. Concerning Cu and Zn in a state of chemical remobilization, both elements would possibly present no harm to the local communities. However, Pb available content exceeded the comparison values in various sampling sites, suggesting the need of monitoring regarding its bioavailability.

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. The biomonitoring study was performed from 2009 to 2012, thus comprising the period during construction and after the highway inauguration. Metal accumulation and structural alterations were assessed, in addition to microscopy analyses to understand the metal chelation in plant tissues and to assess the causes of alterations in the number and shape of scale cells. Altogether, our analyses support the use of this species as a wide biomonitor of air quality in urbanized areas.

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. In the studied trophic positions, it was observed bioaccumulation for As, Cd and Pb, which are toxic elements with no biological function. In addition, Cd showed a positive relationship between concentration and trophic level suggesting the possible biomagnification of this element.

Combined SEM/AVS and attenuation of concentration models for the assessment of bioavailability and mobility of metals in sediments of Sepetiba Bay (SE Brazil).

This study proposes a new methodology to study contamination, bioavailability and mobility of metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) using chemical and geostatistics approaches in marine sediments of Sepetiba Bay (SE Brazil). The chemical model of SEM (simultaneously extracted metals)/AVS (acid volatile sulfides) ratio uses a technique of cold acid extraction of metals to evaluate their bioavailability, and the geostatistical model of attenuation of concentrations estimates the mobility of metals. By coupling the two it was observed that Sepetiba Port, the urban area of Sepetiba and the riverine discharges may constitute potential sources of metals to Sepetiba Bay. The metals are concentrated in the NE area of the bay, where they tend to have their lowest mobility, as shown by the attenuation model, and are not bioavailable, as they tend to associate with sulfide and organic matter originated in the mangrove forests of nearby Guaratiba area.

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. Because of this, it is environmentally persistent and has been shown to accumulate in marine organisms. The mean reference inventory of this radionuclide in Admiralty Bay sediments, determined using high resolution gamma ray spectrometry, was 20.23±8.94 Bq m(-2), and within the ambient (137)Cs activity range. A model of (137)Cs diffusion-convection was applied to data collected from 1cm intervals in sediment cores with the aim of providing insights with respect to this element's behavior in sediments. Model results showed a significant correlation between measured and modeled values using the concentrations of (137)Cs, and estimated input into the system from the global fallout of past nuclear tests and expected values based on local sedimentation rates. Results highlight the importance of accounting for the vertical diffusion of (137)Cs in marine sediments when used as a tracer for environmental processes and for assessing potential bioavailability.