In this work an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was adapted to be used as an environmental tool to collect water samples of sea, estuary, and mangrove for further analysis by gas chromatography with a mass detector (GC-MS). The sampling automated system was based on a microcontroller, a solenoid valve, and a peristaltic mini-pump that was coupled to a quadcopter UAV. The apparatus was properly calibrated to acquire 100 mL of environmental water at 4.6 min. After, the concentration of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and o, m, p-xylenes) was analyzed in laboratory using GC-MS and the BTEX concentration ranged from 0.3 to 5.0 µg L-1 with a recovery from 83.9 to 118% with a relative standard deviation lower than 7.0%. Tests of cross-contamination were performed by simultaneous sampling and laboratory blank was carried out and no contamination was found for BTEX analysis. Based on the results, the adapted UAV presented a very useful ability to collect samples in difficult access areas such as mangroves, points between rocks, corals reefs, without health risk and without impacting the fragile ecosystem being an interesting tool for environmental purposes.

Realizou-se levantamento malacológico na praia de Carne de Vaca, município de Goiana, litoral norte de Pernambuco, entre novembro de 2006 e outubro de 2007, com o objetivo de conhecer a fauna malacológica dessa localidade e verificar as condições naturais, pouco ou bastante alteradas das áreas de estudo através da aplicação de um protocolo de avaliação de diversidade de hábitats. Foram coletados 5.912 moluscos, representados por sete espécies e quatro famílias, dos quais, 5.209 exemplares de Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818), 113 de Drepanotrema lucidum (Pfeiffer, 1839), 55 de Drepanotrema cimex (Moricand, 1837), 13 de Drepanotrema anatinum (Pfeiffer, 1839), 222 de Melanoides tuberculatus (Muller, 1774), 263 de Pomacea sp. e 37 de Physa marmorata Guilding, 1828. Entre os exemplares de B. glabrata coletados, 44 mostraram-se positivos para Schistosoma mansoni Sambon, 1907 e 91 mostraram-se positivos para outras larvas de trematódeos. Um exemplar de Pomacea sp. mostrou-se positivo para larva de trematódeo. Os dados obtidos, georreferenciados espacialmente, serão utilizados para a determinação das áreas de risco para a transmissão da esquistossomose na praia de Carne de Vaca, além de simulações computacionais para estudos de previsibilidade e comportamento do processo de expansão da esquistossomose no estado de Pernambuco.

It was carried out a malacological survey at Carne de Vaca beach, Goiana municipality, Pernambuco North coast, between November 2006 and October 2007 in order to know the malacological fauna of this town and verify the natural, slightly or more modified conditions of mollusks sites by using an habitat diversity protocol analysis. From 5,912 mollusks collected, they belong to seven species and four families, as follows: 5,209 Biomphalaria glabrata (Say, 1818) specimens, 113 of Drepanotrema lucidum (Pfeiffer, 1839), 55 of Drepanotrema cimex (Moricand, 1837), 13 of Drepanotrema anatinum (Pfeiffer, 1839), 222 of Melanoides tuberculatus (Muller, 1774), 263 of Pomacea sp. and 37 of Physa marmorata Guilding, 1828. Among B. glabrata collected, 44 specimens were positive for Schistosoma mansoni Sambon, 1907 cercariae and 91 specimens were positive for other trematode larvae. One Pomacea sp. specimen was positive for trematode larvae. These data, spatially georeferenced, will be used for determination of risk' sites for schistosomiasis transmission at Carne de Vaca beach and furthermore, they will be used for computational simulations to determine the expansion process of schistosomiasis in state of Pernambuco.