Evaluation of the Effects of Exposure to Urban Particulate Matter (PM) on Marine Organisms

• Autor(a) principal: Rodrigues, Inês Araújo
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/155195
• topic: Particulate Matter (PM); Estuarine organisms; Oxidative stress; Biomarkers; Domínio/Área Científica::Engenharia e Tecnologia::Outras Engenharias e Tecnologias

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is a significant threat, as it contains pollutants that can cause damage to the environment and especially to the aquatic biota. This thesis falls within the scope of the research project "AMBIEnCE" and explores how pollutants from wet precipitation of atmospheric PM cause toxicity in marine organisms (Dicentrarchus labrax, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and Palaemon varians). The assays included exposure to different concentrations of suspended PM (5.7 and 11.4 mg/L). After 7, 14 and 21 days, for analyses, selected organs were sampled (muscle, liver/ digestive gland, gills, and intestines/viscera), depending on the target species. An additional trial was performed to study the eventual trophic transfer of PM by feeding seabass with PM-contaminated Polychaetes After the exposure assays, several oxidative stress biomarkers were analysed (CAT, SOD, GPX, and GST), lipid peroxidation (MDA content) and total ubiquitin, which allowed the assessment of the response to exposure to the different concentrations of PM-tested. Overall, seabass showed increased enzyme activities in the exposed animals exposed, especially those exposed to 5.7 mg/L compared to respective controls. In the seabass contaminated via diet, higher enzymatic activity was observed in muscle and liver compared to the respective controls. An increase in oxidative stress enzymes was also observed in mussels and shrimp exposed to PM. The MDA and ubiquitin levels provided information on cellular and protein damage. Although variable results, an increase in MDA and ubiquitin levels was evident in the gills of exposed mussels. Nonetheless, the higher mortality observed in fish and shrimps exposed to the highest PM concentration suggests a severe effect on these species. Overall, these results show that PM exposure can significantly impact marine organisms with increasing PM concentration and exposure time. Additionally, it provides valuable information for the risk assessment of marine ecosystems.