RT Journal Article
T1 Fish tissues for biomonitoring toxic and essential trace elements in the Lower Amazon
A1 Albuquerque, Fabio Edir Amaral
A1 Herrero Latorre, Carlos
A1 Miranda Castañón, Marta Inés
A1 Barrêto Júnior, Raimundo Alves
A1 Oliveira, Francisco Leonardo Costa
A1 Sucupira, Maria Cláudia Araripe
A1 Lippi Ortolani, Enrico
A1 Hamad Minervino, Antonio Humberto
A1 López Alonso, María Marta
K1 Biomonitoring
K1 Amazon river
K1 Trace and toxic elements
K1 Fish liver and muscle
AB Brazilian soils can have high concentrations of toxic elements, mainly mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As), metals also associated with anthropogenic activities (e.g. intensive agriculture, mining, deforestation and hydroelectric plants). This can lead to large amounts of these elements reaching and/or being mobilized in the aquatic ecosystem, which constitutes a serious threat to the environment and to the health of local populations. Thus, we evaluate the feasibility of analyzing the tissues of freshwater fish species for monitoring toxic and trace element accumulation within the aquatic ecosystem in the Lower Amazon, Brazil. Two fish species were considered: Cichla temensis (Tucunaré), a carnivorous species, and Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Acari), a detritivorous species. Samples of liver and muscle from both species were evaluated in relation to their potential use for biomonitoring purposes. The study findings clearly demonstrate the value these fish species and tissues, particularly liver, for biomonitoring toxic and trace element concentrations in the aquatic environment across the study region. While Tucunaré liver proved the best option for biomonitoring elements that accumulate through the food chain (e.g. Hg), Acari liver better reflected elements that typically accumulate in the sediments (e.g. As). Moreover, the trace element profiles, determined using chemometric (multivariate) techniques, differed greatly in specimens from waters in the Andean mountain range (sampling sites located in the main course of the Amazon River) with high sediment concentrations, and in specimens from the Guyana and Brazilian shields (Porto Trombetas on the Trombetas River and Itaituba on the Tapajós River). The findings also indicate that deposition of elements in freshwater fish in this area is mainly associated with the geological origin of the soils and that large amounts of toxic elements can reach the aquatic ecosystem due to anthropogenic activities, thereby posing a serious danger to the environment and the health of the riverside communities.
PB Elsevier
SN 1873-6424
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38026
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/38026
LA eng
NO Environmental Pollution Volume 283, 15 August 2021, 117024
NO This research was supported by the Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improvement (CAPES), Visiting Research Program (PVE) grant #88881.062153/2014-01. We also are grateful to CAPES for Ph.D. sandwich fellowships grated (to FEAA and FLCO). The authors thank RIAIDT-USC, Spain, for the use of analytical facilities. AHHM is grateful to the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for a research productivity fellowship. FEAA is grateful to Amazon Foundation to Support Studies and Research (FAPESPA) for his Doctoral fellowship and FLCO is grateful to The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). The authors are grateful to Prof. Domingos Diniz (in memorian) for support with funding acquisition.
DS Minerva
RD 30 abr 2026