Microalgae biomass is among one of the most promising sustainable raw materials for many industrial sectors especially biodiesel production. Although a great diversity of microalgae species has been described and isolated, few have been used for large-scale cultivation. This review presents a multidisciplinary overview of studies on Tetradesmus obliquusa freshwater microalga suitable for largescale production and emerging environmental applications. It reviews the taxonomic history of T. obliquus and its potential commercial applications, including cultivations techniques and environmental parameters, production systems, harvesting and drying of biomass, and its biochemical composition. In addition, a model refinery for T. obliquus is proposed that combines the main productive bioprocesses. Finally, a bibliometric analysis is presented and opportunities for future research with T. obliquus are identified.

Endocrine Disruptors (EDs) are synthetic or natural chemical compounds of exogenous origin that can cause serious health damage, in the growth and reproduction of animals when released into the aquatic environment through anthropic activities. Taking into account the current impact of pollutants on aquatic biodiversity in the last years, this study aims to systematically review the relevant literature on currently known EDs, focusing on their sources, their effects, and consequences on the aquatic biota, with emphasis to fish and amphibians. About 70% of the analyzed studies report that sewage represents the major source of EDs contamination to the water environment, and more than 90% of these contaminants are associated with interference in the sexual differentiation of aquatic animals, infertility, and reduction of sperm production. In addition, the main effects caused by EDs in fish include abnormalities in the reproductive system of animals (47%), induction of vitellogenin (VTG) synthesis (20%) and mortality of the species (13%). In amphibians, the main effects caused by EDs include changes in hormonal activity (physiological functions) during the embryonic development (11%), causing changes in anatomy (33%) and behavior (11%), leading to a reduction in reproductive success (11%), as well as gonadal abnormalities (22%), hermaphroditism (33%) and other alterations in the reproductive system (45%). Finally, this report calls attention to the importance to the rational use of these substances, as well as to encourage scientific research that shows the real seriousness of these Aquatic Science and Technology ISSN 2168-9148 2018 contaminations on the decline of fish and amphibian populations, showing mediating and mitigating solutions to their impacts.

Understanding the evolution of scientific literature is a critical and necessary step for the development and strengthening of a research field. However, an overview of global dinoflagellate research remains unavailable. Herein, global dinoflagellate research output was analyzed based on a scientometric approach using the Scopus data archive. The basic characteristics and worldwide interactions of dinoflagellate research output were analyzed to determine the temporal evolution and new emerging trends. The results confirm that dinoflagellate research output, reflected in the number of publications, is a fast-growing area since the mid-1990s. In total, five research subareas emerged using a bibliometric keywords analysis: (1) “symbiosis with coral reefs”, (2) “phylogeny”, (3) “palynology”, (4) “harmful algal blooms” and (5) “nutrition strategies”. Dinoflagellate publications were modeled by fish production (both aquaculture and fisheries) and economic and social indexes. Finally, directions for future research are proposed and discussed. The presented scientometric analysis confirms that dinoflagellate research is an active and important area with focus on mitigating economic impacts, especially in regard to fish production.

The temporal phytoplankton biomass variation at two Neotropical reservoirs during an extreme drought season were analyzed. Here we sought to evaluate the main abiotic factors involved in dynamics of phytoplankton during this drought period. The main difference between the reservoirs was the intensive fish and shrimp farming in one of the reservoirs. For quantitative analysis, sampling with bottles were carried out at an average depth of 0.5m. Water temperature, pH and electrical conductivity parameters were measured in situ and water samples were collected for dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus analyses. Aquaculture was probably one among the causes for the reservoirs were so different in the physical and chemical variables, as shown by the principal components analysis. The results showed specific groups dominance in both reservoirs. In the Cachoeira II reservoir, an invasive dinoflagellate, Ceratium furcoides, was present in all analyzed months, while, in the Saco I reservoir, cyanobacteria group represented more than 50% of phytoplankton biomass, mainly Microcystis aeruginosa and Dolichospermum sp. In two reservoirs precipitation, soluble reactive phosphorus and electrical conductivity were positively related with phytoplankton. Phytoplankton biomass was considerably larger in the Cachoeira II reservoir, due to the greater size and biovolume of the dominant dinoflagellate. These findings suggest that species dominance in extreme drought events may be favored.

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A Caatinga é um domínio fitogeográfico característico do semiárido brasileiro, sendo uma das áreas menos estudadas e uma das regiões naturais brasileiras menos protegida. A Caatinga vem sofrendo um rápido processo de deterioração ambiental, decorrente do desmatamento. Diante disso, o presente estudo teve como objetivo mostrar a atual distribuição e quantidades de Unidades de Conservação no domínio Caatinga. Para sua realização foram consultados diversos livros, revistas, teses e periódicos referentes as Unidades de Conservação e as consultas dos números de UCs, por estados e biomas, foram feitas por meio do endereço eletrônico do Cadastro Nacional de Unidade de Conservação do Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Atualmente a Caatinga possui 166 UCs cadastradas, que conserva uma área de 63.677 km², correspondendo a 7,7% do domínio, sendo 1,2% dessa área protegida pertence ao grupo de Proteção Integral e 6,5% ao de Uso Sustentável. Os estados que mais possuem áreas de Caatinga, são Bahia, Piauí e Ceará, porém Piauí é o único estado que tem pouco mais de 10% da área destinada a conservação desse domínio. Já o Rio Grande do Norte, Sergipe, Paraíba e Alagoas possuem menos de 1% de suas áreas de Caatinga para conservação, os demais estados têm entre 6 a 9,5%. Até 2008 mais de 45% da área de caatinga já havia sido desmatada, portanto se faz necessário a ampliação das quantidades de UCs, haja vista que o processo de desmatamento, e consequentemente perda de diversidade biológica, nesta área, é bem rápido e ocorre não somente por ações antrópicas, mas também por fenômenos naturais.

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