The port regions of the Amazon are subject to environmental impacts high shipping traffic. In October 2015, a cargo ship containing 5000 oxen sank in the Port of Vila do Conde, northern Brazil, releasing large amounts of organic matter and diesel oil into the aquatic environment. We evaluated the consequences of this shipwreck on the zooplankton community. Sampling was carried out using a phytoplankton net (64 μm) at two locations close to the port. We calculated the frequency of occurrence, relative abundance, and trophic state index and performed a canonical redundancy analysis of zooplankton in this area. Total density values ranged from 371 to 8600 organisms/m
3
, with minimum values being recorded during the period of the shipwreck and maximum values after the shipwreck. The areas categorized as super eutrophic had the lowest density values. The most abundant species/groups were nauplii and copepodites of the orders Cyclopoida and Calanoida. Of the environmental variables, only biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and total dissolved solids were selected by the redundancy canonical analysis. The environmental conditions of the region and the ongoing environmental impacts might substantially influence the structure of the zooplankton community. The predominance of these organisms, in addition to the high densities of nauplii and copepodites, was likely related to the large amounts of nutrients generated by the shipwreck.
The study characterized and evaluated the use of the benthic macroinvertebrate community as an indicator of impacts in different estuarine environments around the Industrial Port Complex (IPC) of Vila do Conde (Pará State, Amazon region). Fauna of beaches and rivers, in sectors of the estuary under different degrees of environmental impact (high, medium, and low), was compared in different seasonal periods. Macrofauna was composed of typically fresh-water and estuarine groups. Beaches presented sediment with a texture ranging from medium to coarse sand, with a less rich macrofauna ( = 4.5 ± SE 0.3 taxa/sample) and dense ( = 1,838.1 ± 164.8 ind./m2) of organisms when compared to rivers ( = 5.9 ± 0.3 taxa/sample, and 3,248.9 ± 77.0 ind./m2), which were environments more muddy. For both environments, sites in the high-impact sector were less rich ( = 4.7 ± 0.3 taxa/sample) and dense ( = 2,812.9 ± 232.7 ind./m2) when compared to those in the low-impact sector ( = 7.6 ± 0.4 taxa/sample, and 3,314.3 ± 230.1 ind./m2). Richness ( = 6.4 ± 0.3 taxa/sample) and density ( = 3,859.4 ± 190.2 ind./m2) were higher in the rainier season when compared to the less rainy season ( = 4.8 ± 0.3 taxa/sample, and 1,933.0 ± 172.1 ind./m2). However, there were no significant seasonal changes in composition. Results indicated that the structure of the benthic macroinvertebrate community surrounding the IPC responds to the loss of environmental quality, with extreme effects of a drop in abundance and diversity. Taxa that are more tolerant (Namalycastis caetensis, Cirolana sp., Pseudosphaeroma sp., Tubificidae, and Chironomidae) and sensitive (Hydropsychidae and Eteone sp.) to impact conditions were identified and evaluated as potential bioindicators.
Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms that in aquatic environments can compose the phytoplankton and phytobenthos, being important in the primary production of these ecosystems. The objective of this work was to identify the main morphological variations of the cells, filaments and thallus of the cyanobacteria Nostoc sp. LBALBR-2 submitted to ultraviolet radiation (UV-C) in microcosm systems. The cyanobacteria Nostoc sp. was subjected to four treatments: 1- control treatment in nutrient medium; 2- treatment in nutrient medium with exposure to UV-C radiation; 3- control treatment in medium without nutrients and 4- treatment in medium without nutrients with exposure to UV-C radiation. Optical density and chlorophyll-a analyses were performed to determine the growth of Nostoc populations and microscopic analyses to characterize the morphological development of the species. Lack of nutrients generated short trichomes with terminal heterocytes, scattered solitary akinetes and appearance of hormogonia. On nutrient medium the trichomes of Nostoc sp. showed predominantly the vegetative serial form. Cultures exposed to UV-C produced anomalous cells, thick mucilage, fragmented trichomes and hormogonia. It is concluded that Nostoc sp. LBALBR-2 grew well under eutrophication conditions and although it showed cell deformation it was resistant to UV-C radiation.
Amor Island (Alter do Chão, Santarém, Pará, Brazil) is considered a region of great natural beauty and a national and international tourist attraction. The aim of this study was to determine the composition and density of the phytoplankton of the Amor Island, with emphasis on heterocytous cyanobacteria. Water samples for phytoplankton were collected and analyzed at seven points in October 2021. Filaments of heterocytous cyanobacteria were cultured and analyzed, measuring the cells of the first 30 trichomes. The abundance, diversity and evenness of phytoplankton species were calculated and balneability of beach in relation to algal blooms was evaluated. 106 generic and infrageneric taxa were identified, highlighting the Chlorophyta. Phytoplankton density was higher at Verde Lake (145.6 ± 22.0 org.L-1), diversity and evenness were higher at point 03 (Lake Verde) with 3.0 bits.cell-1 and 0.47, respectively. The most abundant species were: Aphanothece minutissima, Ankistrodesmus sp., Aphanothece sp., Aphanizomenon sp., Mougeotia sp., Merismopedia sp. and Quadrigula sp. The average density of cyanobacteria was higher in the Tapajós River (517.0 cell.mL-1). No algal and cyanobacterial blooms were identified, indicating water appropriate for bathing. Through morphological and morphometric description, the cultivated species were identified as Aphanizomenon gracile and Cylindrospermopsis/Raphidiopsis raciborskii, cited among the cyanobacteria with the highest occurrence of toxic blooms in the world. The region deserves phytoplankton monitoring studies, due to reports of cyanobacterial blooms, and greater knowledge of its planktonic biodiversity, since it is a threatened region.
Composição, riqueza e índices ecológicos do fitoplâncton do lago Bolonha (Belém, Pará) Composition, richness and ecological index of phytoplankton of lake Bolonha (Belém, Pará
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