Preliminary Appraisal of Imposex in Areas Under the Influence of Southern Brazilian Harbors

• Autor(a) principal: Castro, Ítalo Braga de
• Data de Publicação: 2007
• Outros Autores: Bemvenuti, Carlos Emílio, Fillmann, Gilberto
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da FURG (RI FURG)
• Texto Completo: http://repositorio.furg.br/handle/1/497
• topic: Imposex; Stramonita haemastoma; Organotin; Estuary; Southern Brazil; Organoestanho; Estuário; Sul do Brasil

Imposex in gastropod mollusks is an efficient and low-cost biomarker for pollution by organotin compounds. Such substances are typically found in areas with an intense flux of vessels, such as marinas and harbors. This study preliminarily evaluated the occurrence of imposex in Stramonita haemastoma (Linnaeus, 1758) populations along the areas under the influence of the main harbors from southern Brazil (Paranaguá, PR; São Francisco do Sul, SC; Itajaí, SC; and Rio Grande, RS). Although no chemical analyses were performed so far to confirm the presence of organotins, the occurrence of imposex strongly suggests a contamination by these compounds in the studied areas and it is likely that the closest from the harbors (as the main sources) the more contaminated the environment. However, due to the ilimitations of S. haemastoma, it is important to assess the response of alternative species adapted to mesohaline environments and non-consolidated substrates, in order to make up for the lack of indicator species for some areas such as Patos Lagoon and Itajaí-Açu estuaries.