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Background, aim and scope Although many recent studies have focused on sediment potential toxicity, few of them were performed in tropical shallow aquatic environments. Those places can suffer short-time variations, especially due to water column circulations generated by changes in temperature and wind. Rio Grande reservoir is such an example; aside from that, it suffers various anthropogenic impacts, despite its multiple uses. Materials and methods This work presents the first screening step for understanding sediment quality from Rio Grande reservoir by comparing metal content using three different sediment quality guidelines. We also aimed at verifying any possible spatial heterogeneity. Results and discussion We found spatial heterogeneity varying according to the specific metal. Results showed a tendency for metals to remain as insoluble as metal sulfide (potentially not bioavailable), since sulfide was in excess and sediment physical-chemical characteristics contribute to sulfide maintenance (low redox potential, neutral pH, low dissolved oxygen, and high organic matter content). On the other hand, metal concentrations were much higher than suggested by Canadian guidelines and regional background values, especially Cu, which raises the risk of metal remobilization in cases of water circulation. Further study steps include the temporal evaluation of AVS/SEM, a battery of bioassays and the characterization of organic compounds.Sediments are an important phase in controlling metal toxicity to organisms, since they can act as both a source and a sink for such contaminants (Chapman et al. 1998). Physical and chemical parameters of sediments affect metal speciation and, hence, metal bioavailability and toxicity to organisms. Although many studies have been dedicated for the understanding of sediment dynamics and processes controlling the bioavailability of metals, few of them were performed in tropical shallow aquatic environments. In such places, minor changes in temperature and wind can have an enormous influence on water circulation over a 24-h basis, meaning that the water column changes from being stratified to non-stratified. Besides, high temperatures accelerate the metabolism of the whole system, including production/consumption of organic matter and equilibrium of chemical reactions.Water bodies located near urban areas are subjected to multiple stresses, among which metal contamination is of great importance, since metals are not degradable and can be biomagnified along the food web. Furthermore, the sources of metals are variable (atmospheric deposition, run off from ore exploration, input from industrial, and urban sewage). In this context, Rio Grande reservoir fulfills the characteristics for a good case of study. It is part of the Billings Complex, the greatest body of accumulated water in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region (São Paulo State, Brazil); it is polymictic, of multiple uses and suffers greatly from a variety of anthropogenic impacts.

Triclosan (TCS) is an emerging contaminant of concern in environmental studies due to its potential adverse effects on fish behavior. Since avoidance has been shown to be a relevant behavioral endpoint, our aims were: (i) to determine if TCS is able to trigger an avoidance response in Poecilia reticulata; (ii) to predict the population immediate decline (PID) caused by TCS exposure, by integrating lethality and avoidance responses; and (iii) to verify the overestimation of risk when mortality is assessed under forced exposure. Fish were exposed to TCS in a forced exposure system, to assess mortality, and to a TCS gradient in a non-forced exposure (NFE) system. Two NFE scenarios were simulated: (#1) a spatially permanent gradient, including low and high concentrations; and (#2) a scenario with high concentrations, simulating a local discharge. The fish avoided TCS concentrations as low as 0.2 μg L (avoidance of 22%). The AC50 obtained from scenario #1 (8.04 μg L) was about 15 times more sensitive than that from scenario #2 (118.4 μg L). In general, up to the highest concentration tested (2000 μg L), the PID was determined by the avoidance. Mortality from the forced exposure was overestimated (48 h-LC50 of 1650 mg L), relative to the NFE. The reduced mortality in a non-forced environment does not imply a lower effect, because part of the population is expected to disappear by moving towards favorable environments. TCS is a potential environmental disturber, since at environmentally relevant concentrations (<2 μg L) it could cause a decline in the fish population.

ABSTRACTthe annual variability of the photosynthetic production (PP) by phytoplankton in the lacustrine zone of the Jurumirim reservoir (São Paulo, Brazil) was evaluated in a three-year study to identify recurrent patterns and their causes. Variability in PP was measured daily during two periods of the year (the dry and rainy seasons). An analysis of the PP data failed to identify a recurrent pattern, since the PP values showed no correlation with hydrological factors (rainfall, water level and discharge, and washout) nor, apparently, with the water's nutritional conditions. A principal component analysis revealed that the PP and assimilation ratio were higher when the Po 4 3-and n-nh 4 + contents were low and the z eu /z miX ratios were at their highest. Areal primary productivity can be predicted based on the ratio between the maximum volumetric productivity and the coefficient of vertical extinction of light. however, the biomass integrated for z eu was a poor predictor of areal primary productivity. no correlation was found between water temperature and areal and maximum volumetric productivity. thus, the three-year PP study indicated that the variability pattern is typically chaotic. As for the short-term measurements, the PP was found to be higher in the dry season than in the rainy, although both seasons showed an areal PP variability of 35 to 40%. this pattern was attributed to the daily variation in the nutritional conditions and the magnitude of light penetrating through the water, combined with the mixing of phytoplanktonic cells. A comment about the relationship between primary production by phytoplankton and fish yield is also briefly discussed here.Keywords: primary productivity, phytoplankton, variability, reservoir, light, nutrients. RESUMOVariabilidade anual e de curto prazo na produtividade primária pelo fitoplâncton e fatores abióticos correlatos na Represa de Jurumirim (São Paulo, Brasil)A variabilidade anual da produção fotossintética (PP) pelo fitoplâncton na zona da barragem da represa de Jurumirim (São Paulo, Brasil) foi medida após um estudo no período de três anos sucessivos, com o objetivo de identificar padrões recorrentes e suas causas. medidas da variabilidade da PP em escala diária foram obtidas em dois períodos do ano (estações seca e chuvosa). nenhum padrão recorrente foi verificado nos dados de PP, visto não haver relação de sua variabilidade com nenhum fator hidrológico (precipitação, nível e vazão de água e washout) nem, aparentemente, com as condições nutritivas da água. A análise de componentes principais revelou que a PP e a taxa de assimilação foram mais elevadas na época do ano em que o conteúdo de Po 4 3-e n-nh 4 + foi mais baixo e quando as razões z eu /z miX foram mais elevadas. A produtividade primária/área pode ser estimada pela razão entre a produtividade volumétrica máxima e o coeficiente de extinção vertical da luz. entretanto, a biomassa integrada na z eu foi um pobre preditor da produtividade primária/área. nenhuma correlação foi encontrada entre a temperatura d...

Reservoirs located in urban areas suffer specific pressures related to human activities. Their monitoring, management, and protection requirements differ from reservoirs situated in non-urbanized areas. The objectives of this study were: (a) to determine the concentrations of select pesticides and emerging pollutants (EPs) present in an urban reservoir; (b) to describe their possible spatial distributions; and (c) to quantify the risks for aquatic life and safeguard drinking water supplies. For this purpose, the Guarapiranga reservoir was studied as an example of a multi-stressed urban reservoir in a tropical region. A total of 31 organic compounds (including pesticides, illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals, and endocrine disruptors) were analyzed twice over a period of one year, together with classical indicators of water quality. The physical and chemical data were treated using principal component analysis (PCA) to identify possible temporal or spatial patterns. Risk assessment was performed for biota and drinking water use, comparing maximum environmental concentrations (MECs) with the predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs) or drinking water quality criteria (DWC), respectively. The results demonstrated the presence of pesticides and EPs, as well as pollution by high levels of nutrients and Chlorophyll a (Chl. a), during the study period. The nutrients and Trophic State Index (TSI) showed gradients in the reservoir and regional distributions, while the pesticides and EPs only clearly showed this pattern in the dry season. The concentrations and distributions of the pesticides and EPs therefore showed seasonality. These findings suggested that the two groups of pollutants (EPs+pesticides and nutrients) possessed different sources and behavior and were not always correlated in the reservoir studied. In the studied period, no risk was observed in raw water for drinking water use, but carbendazim, imidacloprid, and BPA showed risks for the biota in the reservoir.

Water quality in reservoirs is often compromised in many regions worldwide by nutrients and trace metals. This demands continuous monitoring; however, analyses of large data sets collected during regular monitoring remain a difficult task. Multivariate techniques offer a fast and robust approach for interpreting complex results. The objective of this study was to check the efficacy of selforganizing maps (SOMs) as a tool to investigate biogeochemical processes. This tool can also help to illustrate influences of land use patterns on the water quality of reservoirs. Here we use the Itupararanga Reservoir in Brazil as a subtropical example. Vertical profiles were sampled from seven sites in the reservoir in a total of seven campaigns over 24 months. Next to physicochemical parameters in the water column (dissolved oxygen, Eh, pH, and temperature), levels of nutrients (NO 3 − , NH 4 + , and PO 4 3− ), transition and trace metals (Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, and Zn), and chlorophyll-a (Chla) were measured. These variables were correlated with land use using SOM. With this technique samples were classified into 17 distinct groups that showed distinct influences of spatial heterogeneity and seasonality. The analyses helped to reveal a seasonal stratification period, where Fe, Mn, and P were released from sediments. Nutrients and some metal inputs (Al and Fe) were related to agricultural, urban, and grass/pasture areas around the reservoir. Our approach also helped to explain physical and biogeochemical seasonality in the reservoir.

Em sua pesquisa, o autor busca, neste livro, discutir aspectos relacionados ao monitoramento e manejo de macrófitas aquáticas em reservatórios, apresentando uma síntese de toda a problemática baseada em investigações e informações da literatura sobre o tema.

Information on how atrazine can affect the spatial distribution of organisms is non-existent. As this effect has been observed for some other contaminants, we hypothesized that atrazine-containing leachates/discharges could trigger spatial avoidance by the fish Poecilia reticulata and form a chemical barrier isolating upstream and downstream populations. Firstly, guppies were exposed to an atrazine gradient in a non-forced exposure system, in which organisms moved freely among the concentrations, to assess their ability to avoid atrazine. Secondly, a chemical barrier formed by atrazine, separating two clean habitats (extremities of the non-forced system), was simulated to assess whether the presence of the contaminant could prevent guppies from migrating to the other side of the system. Fish were able to avoid atrazine contamination at environmentally relevant concentrations (0.02 μg L), below those described to cause sub-lethal effects. The AC (atrazine concentration causing avoidance to 50% of the population) was 0.065 μg L. The chemical barrier formed by atrazine at 150 μg L (concentration that should produce an avoidance around 82%) caused a reduction in the migratory potential of the fish by 47%; while the chemical barrier at 1058 μg L (concentration that produces torpidity) caused a reduction in the migratory potential of the fish by 91%. Contamination by atrazine, besides driving the spatial distribution of fish populations, has potential to act as a chemical barrier by isolating fish populations. This study includes a novel approach to be integrated in environmental risk assessment schemes to assess high-tier contamination effects such as habitat fragmentation and population displacement and isolation.