Name: Midiã Silva de Paula
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 05/08/2022
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Mercia Barcellos da Costa | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Grasiela Lopes Leães Pinho | External Examiner * |
| Jones Bernardes Graceli | External Examiner * |
| Mariana Beatriz Paz Otegui | External Alternate * |
| Mercia Barcellos da Costa | Advisor * |
| Nyam Florencio da Silva | External Alternate * |
Summary: Microplastics (MPs) are defined as particles smaller
than 5mm in size, which can be derived from the degradation and
breakdown of larger plastics or can be produced in microscopic
size and directly inserted into aquatic environments. Such
particles can be ingested by many marine species, leading to
direct physical damage and potential toxic effects, in addition
to accumulating in marine organisms by various routes, reaching
edible species and causing risks to human health. The various
impacts caused by MPs on the biota have already been studied,
however, in Brazil, the studies are in an initial phase. In
addition, the study area has recently undergone a sand
strip-fattening project, considerably modifying the beach sand
composition and possibly increasing the amount of MPs compared to
a study carried out before the fattening. Thus, the present study
aimed to compare the abundance and distribution of MPs found in
intertidal sediments and in Crassostrea brasiliana, Mytella
strigata, Perna perna and Tivela mactroides, collected on the
beaches of Camburi and Curva da Jurema, Vitória, Southeast in
Brazil, in a post-fattening situation. For that, samples of
interdital sediment were collected in five sampling points, in
addition to 20 individuals of C. brasiliana, M. strigata, P.
perna and T. mactroides in two sampling points. The MPs found in
the study were collected and deposited on filter papers arranged
in Petri dishes, WHERE they were viewed under a magnifying glass,
photographed, quantified, classified by type, color and stored
for further analysis. The results found show that there was an
increase of 171.41% for MPs after fattening. Filaments were the
dominant types of MPs in the two years of study. In 2020 blue was
the most found color in MPs, while in 2021 the largest amount of
MPs found represented the color black. The significant increase
for MPs after the fattening process indicates that human actions
on urban beaches, such as the sand fattening process, can lead to
a drastic increase in MPs available in the environment, further
increasing the risk of contamination of the local biota, which
may reach humans via the food chain.
Key words: Microplastics; Bivalve; Intertidal Sediment; Sand
Fattening.
