Name: Millena Araujo França
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 02/03/2020
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Mercia Barcellos da Costa | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Albert David Ditchfield | Internal Examiner * |
| Mercia Barcellos da Costa | Advisor * |
| Teofania Heloisa Dutra Amorim Vidigal | External Examiner * |
| THALES RENAN DE AGUIAR BROTTO | Internal Alternate * |
Summary: Coastal populations use the oceans for communication,
transportation, recreation or food sources, however, these food
sources over the past centuries have suffered and routinely
suffer from the impacts of anthropic action. Among the target
organisms for human consumption, shellfish stand out, especially
mussels. In Brazil the most used mussel is Perna Perna. Aware of
its economic and social importance, identifying and understanding
possible changes arising from human action have become necessary
for both species and consumers. Thus, the objective of this
dissertation was to analyze the use of the reproductive cycle of
Perna Perna as a possible biomarker of environmental
contamination. For this, the animals were collected in anthropic
area (Vitória) and reference area (Setiba) over an annual cycle.
The animals were analyzed macroscopically and sent for
microscopic analysis using standard histotechnical processes. The
analysis of 712 organisms indicated that the animals from the
Vitória sampling point are directly affected by the anthropic
action that occurred in the region, since they have a higher
parasitic incidence of bucefalidae that feed on the energetic
reversals of the reproductive tissues, especially of the mature
eggs of the females. This causes the rupture of eggs, thus
generating a higher percentage of atresic egg, which indicates
less viability of the gametes and consequently influences the
reproductive success of the species in this location. As a result
of these factors, it is likely that to compensate for the low
recruitment, these organisms are continuously producing and
releasing gametes throughout the year. The sum of these results
corroborates the deviation in the sex ratio of this species for
males, since females are the main targets of stressors and
environmental contaminants. Therefore, it is concluded that the
reproductive cycle of Perna Perna is an excellent biomarker for
environmental contamination.
