Abstract Fiddler crabs are important components of intertidal benthic macrofauna in estuarine habitats. However, these invertebrates often inhabit areas under anthropogenic-driven changes. In this study, we evaluated the habitat quality and the population biology of the fiddler crab Uca maracoani (Latreille, 1802) in a mangrove area under anthropogenic influence, on the southern coast of São Paulo state, Brazil. Sediment samples for ecotoxicological analyses and data on the population biology of U. maracoani were collected monthly between October 2008 and October 2009. Contamination was observed in sediment samples from all months, indicating that benthic organisms inhabiting the study area are continuously exposed to toxicity. The sex ratio did not deviate from 1:1 for the whole population of U. maracoani, within any given month (except in October 2008, when males outnumbered females). Adult males and females showed a similar size, while juvenile females were larger than juvenile males, probably reflecting that females attained sexual maturity at a larger size than males. For both juvenile and adult stages, the major cheliped propodus length and height in males and the abdomen width in females showed positive allometry. The size-frequency distribution of the studied population varied from unimodal to bimodal. Juveniles were recorded in all months, suggesting the studied population has continuous recruitment. In contrast, ovigerous females were not found in the study area for several months. Although U. maracoani is continuously exposed to contamination present in the sediment, it presents a well-established population and seems to persist in the study area.

A zona costeira (ZC) é uma região de características únicas e de grande relevância à manutenção dos recursos e da vida, e que representa um local onde se desenvolvem diversas atividades de grande interesse econômico, social e ambiental. O crescimento populacional e a intensificação das atividades desenvolvidas na ZC brasileira geralmente não são acompanhados pela instalação das infraestruturas básicas necessárias, transformando essa região em um cenário de conflitos de interesses e usos. No estado de São Paulo o Plano Estadual de Gerenciamento Costeiro (PEGC) divide a ZC paulista em: Litoral Norte, Baixada Santista, Complexo Estuarino-Lagunar de Iguape-Cananeia (CELIC) e Vale do Ribeira. No presente estudo escolheu-se a região do CELIC para análise das condições de saneamento básico, por apresentar um perfil diferente do restante do litoral paulista; e com a finalidade de compreender se nessa região do litoral existe uma gestão que efetivamente promova a qualidade de vida e ambiental. Para isso foram coletados índices disponíveis em bases de dados públicas e utilizou-se o modelo pressão - estado - resposta (PER) com o intuito promover a integração das informações. A região estudada encontra-se numa situação onde as pressões são relativamente brandas ao comparadas com as demais regiões litorâneas do estado de São Paulo, porém com um comportamento crescente. Os indicadores de estado demonstram que há uma carência estrutural referente a aspectos básicos como: saúde e saneamento básico. Por sua vez não são evidenciadas respostas que atendam a essas carências, principalmente no que diz respeito à saúde. Mesmo que os aspectos econômicos na região tenham evoluído bastante, o atual estado das estruturas de saúde e saneamento reflete uma precariedade desses serviços, que por sua vez revelam que os ganhos econômicos obtidos não foram revertidos, pelo poder público, de maneira eficaz visando à melhora dessas estruturas. O que se pode observar é que apesar das condições - baixa população, presença de áreas protegidas e a concentração da população na área urbana - o que teoricamente facilitaria o planejamento e a gestão dos aspectos aqui abordados, as pressões parecem aumentar ao longo do tempo, repercutindo em um estado em que se destaca a falta de infraestrutura de saneamento e saúde, que não é acompanhada de ações que procurem mitigar ou resolver esse cenário.

The Coastal Zone (CZ) is of great importance in maintaining natural resources and life. This region presents multiple anthropic activities of economic, social and environmental interest, which can be potentially harmful to natural ecosystems. Furthermore, it is estimated that one third of the world’s population inhabits the CZ. In Brazil, neither the intensification of CZ activities nor population growth have frequently been followed by the implementation of the basic infrastructure required, which has caused the CZ to become an area with conflicts of interest and uses. In this study, the Complexo Estuarino-Lagunar Iguape-Cananéia (CELIC) region was chosen for an analysis of basic sanitary conditions, because it presents a profile that is unique along the São Paulo coast. This region was chosen in an attempt to understand whether it is managed in a way that promotes both quality of life and a healthy environment. To achieve that, information on different indicators involving sanitation, the healthcare system, the population, the economy and the environment were collected from public databases and the pressure-state-response (PSR) framework was used to integrate all of the collected information. The study presents relatively mild pressures when compared to other coastal regions from the state of São Paulo, although in CELIC, pressures present an increasing pattern. Status indicators show that there are structural deficiencies in terms of basic needs, such as health and sanitation. Government responses, however, have not addressed these problems, especially the health issues. Though the local economy has evolved consistently, the current status of sanitation and health structures reveals failings in these services, a situation which shows that economic gains did not effectively result in improvements to these structures. Thus, despite favorable conditions (low population size, the presence of protected areas, and the concentration of the population in urban areas), which should facilitate the planning and management of the aforementioned institutions, the pressure seems to keep increasing. It has resulted in a scenario in which the lack of infrastructure for healthcare and sanitation stand out and there seems to be a lack of political initiative toward actions that aim to mitigate or resolve the problems.

Alterações hematológicas em peixes são consideradas uma importante ferramenta para avaliar processos patológicos decorrentes da exposição a poluentes ambientais. Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest, 1823) (corvina) é comumente encontrada em regiões estuarinas e eventualmente está exposta a inúmeros contaminantes. No presente estudo foi avaliado o quadro hematológico de indivíduos de M. furnieri coletados na Baixada Santista: o Sistema Estuarino de Santos, considerado poluído, e o estuário do Rio Itanhaém (controle). Foram avaliados o número de Eritrócitos (Er), o Hematócrito (Ht), a taxa de Hemoglobina (Hb), o Volume Corpuscular Médio (VCM) e a Concentração de Hemoglobina Corpuscular Média (CHCM). Nos peixes coletados no Sistema Estuarino de Santos, os níveis de Ht foram significativamente menores, enquanto os níveis de CHCM e Hb foram significativamente mais altos, indicando que os prováveis efeitos estejam atribuídos aos diferentes níveis de contaminação encontrados nos estuários.

Hematological alterations in fish are considered a useful tool to evaluate pathological processes resulting from the exposure to environmental pollutants. The whitemouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri is a common species in estuarine areas and potentially exposed to many contaminants. In the present study, the hematological characteristics of fish collected at two sites in Baixada Santista (Santos Estuarine System - SES, a polluted site; and the Estuary of Itanhaém River - EIR, unpolluted site) del was analysed. The following blood descriptors were analyzed: number of Erythrocytes (Er), Hematocrit (Ht), Hemoglobin (Hb), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) and Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). Fish from SES exhibited significant lower levels of Ht and increase on MCHC and Hb. Such differences are likely related to the different contamination levels found in these estuaries.

The aquatic environment receives many contaminants that can induce damages at the molecular, biochemical, cellular and physiological levels. Centropomus parallelus , an important food resource for local populations, is a predator fish that feeds on small fishes and benthic invertebrates, thus being vulnerable to the bioconcentration and biomagnification processes. This study aimed to evaluate cytogenotoxic responses in erythrocytes from C. parallelus juveniles collected in the Cananéia and São Vicente estuaries, both in winter and in summer. After anesthesia, blood samples were collected by caudal puncture. Blood smears were prepared on glass slides and stained with May-Grünwald-Giemsa dye. Two thousand cells were analyzed per slide (1000x), and nuclear abnormalities (NA) and micronuclei (MN) were scored. The São Vicente sample showed MN and NA frequencies (%/1000 cells) of 0.325 and 3.575, in winter, and of 0.125 and 2.935 in summer respectively; the Cananéia sample showed frequencies of 0.0325 and 0.03, in winter, and of 0.065 and 0.355 in summer, respectively. The rates found in São Vicente were significantly higher than those found in Cananéia, evidencing that the levels of pollution in that estuary were high enough to induce genetic damages.

Three approaches were applied to evaluate metal contamination in 41 sediment samples from the Santos - São Vicente Estuarine System: normalization to Al, statistical analysis and sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). The results showed increases in the concentrations of Zn, Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr and Hg, which seemed to be associated with human activities. The levels of Al, Fe and Co probably were associated with crustal material or natural weathering processes. About 45% of the samples presented concentrations exceeding TEL-ERL, levels occasionally associated with adverse biological effects. Four of these samples presented concentrations above PEL-ERM, levels frequently associated with adverse biological effects.

A dragagem dos sedimentos do Canal de Santos é necessária para permitir o trânsito de navios que operam no Porto de Santos. As áreas de disposição do material dragado estão situadas na zona costeira, em frente à Baía de Santos. Este estudo visou avaliar a qualidade dos sedimentos do Canal de Santos e das áreas de disposição atuais e antigas, utilizando testes de toxicidade de sedimento integral com anfípodos e de toxicidade de elutriatos com embriões de ouriço do mar. As amostras do Canal de Santos foram consideradas as mais tóxicas: todas as amostras dessa área foram consideradas significativamente tóxicas. Além disso, algumas amostras das áreas de disposição exibiram toxicidade. Os resultados mostraram, portanto, que os sedimentos apresentam evidências de degradação em sua qualidade, porém novos estudos devem ser conduzidos visando determinar as relações entre contaminação e toxicidade. Os resultados sugerem ainda que a disposição dos sedimentos dragados deva ser reavaliada.

The dredging of sediments from the Santos Channel is necessary to allow the navigation of ships operating in the Port of Santos. The disposal sites for such sediments are situated on the coastal zone, in front of the Santos Bay. The present paper aimed at evaluating the toxicity of sediments collected at the Santos Channel and at the former and current sediment disposal sites. Whole sediment tests with amphipods and elutriate assays with sea-urchin embryos were used. The samples from the Santos Channel were considered the most toxic: all the sediment samples from this area showed toxicity. Moreover, some samples from both former and new sediment disposal sites exhibited toxicity. Therefore, results showed that sediments from the studied areas present evidences of degradation; however, further studies are required to determine relationships between toxicity and contamination. Results also suggested that the disposal of dredged sediments should be re-evaluated.

Nos últimos anos, o anfípodo Tiburonella viscana tem sido amplamente utilizado em estudos de avaliação da qualidade de sedimentos marinhos. Neste trabalho, foi avaliada a sensibilidade dessa espécie ao dicromato de potássio, composto utilizado como substância de referência, a partir de 18 testes de toxicidade. A CL50-48h média foi estimada em 11,217 ± 3,768 mg/l K2Cr2O7, e os limites de aceitabilidade para essa substância foram calculados (LC50 média ± 2 DP), estando entre 3,68 e 18,75 mg/l. Os resultados poderão ser utilizados em futuras comparações, quando da realização de testes de toxicidade com T. viscana.

The sensitivity of Tiburonella viscana to K2Cr2O7 was evaluated from 18 water-only toxicity tests. The mean 48h-LC50 was estimated as 11.217 ± 3.768 mg/l, and the warning limits were calculated (mean LC50 ± 2 SD) as being between 3.68 and 18.75 mg/l. These results are baseline for the species and can be used for future comparisons in toxicity tests.