Immunological and physiological responses of the periwinkle Littorina littorea during and after exposure to the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum.

Species of the dinoflagellate genus Alexandrium produce phycotoxins responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning. Blooms of Alexandrium minutum reach very high concentrations of vegetative cells in the water column; and when these blooms occur, large numbers of toxic cysts can be produced and deposited on sediments becoming available to benthic species. The present study investigated the potential effect of exposure to toxic cysts of A. minutum on the periwinkle Littorinalittorea. Snails were exposed for nine days to pellicle cysts of toxic and non-toxic dinoflagellates, A. minutum and Heterocapsa triquetra, respectively, followed by six days of depuration while they were fed only H. triquetra. Toxin accumulation, condition index, immune and histopathological responses were analyzed. Histological alterations were also monitored in snails exposed to a harmful A. minutum bloom, which naturally occurred in the Bay of Brest. Snails exposed to toxic cysts showed abnormal behavior that seems to be toxin-induced and possibly related to muscle paralysis. Periwinkles accumulated toxins by preying on toxic cysts and accumulation appeared dependent on the time of exposure, increasing during intoxication period but tending to stabilize during depuration period. Toxic exposure also seemed to negatively affect hemocyte viability and functions, as ROS production and phagocytosis. Histological analyses revealed that toxic exposure induced damages on digestive organs of snails, both in laboratory and natural systems. This study demonstrates that an exposure to the toxic dinoflagellate A. minutum leads to sublethal effects on L. littorea, which may alter individual fitness and increase the susceptibility of snails to pathogens and diseases.

Environmental and Sanitary Conditions of Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro.

Guanabara Bay is the second largest bay in the coast of Brazil, with an area of 384 km(2). In its surroundings live circa 16 million inhabitants, out of which 6 million live in Rio de Janeiro city, one of the largest cities of the country, and the host of the 2016 Olympic Games. Anthropogenic interference in Guanabara Bay area started early in the XVI century, but environmental impacts escalated from 1930, when this region underwent an industrialization process. Herein we present an overview of the current environmental and sanitary conditions of Guanabara Bay, a consequence of all these decades of impacts. We will focus on microbial communities, how they may affect higher trophic levels of the aquatic community and also human health. The anthropogenic impacts in the bay are flagged by heavy eutrophication and by the emergence of pathogenic microorganisms that are either carried by domestic and/or hospital waste (e.g., virus, KPC-producing bacteria, and fecal coliforms), or that proliferate in such conditions (e.g., vibrios). Antibiotic resistance genes are commonly found in metagenomes of Guanabara Bay planktonic microorganisms. Furthermore, eutrophication results in recurrent algal blooms, with signs of a shift toward flagellated, mixotrophic groups, including several potentially harmful species. A recent large-scale fish kill episode, and a long trend decrease in fish stocks also reflects the bay's degraded water quality. Although pollution of Guanabara Bay is not a recent problem, the hosting of the 2016 Olympic Games propelled the government to launch a series of plans to restore the bay's water quality. If all plans are fully implemented, the restoration of Guanabara Bay and its shores may be one of the best legacies of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Distribution of HNA and LNA bacterial groups in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean

Bacterioplankton was studied in a large area of Southwest Atlantic Ocean between 13 and 25°S and 28 and 42°W. Samples were collected in 108 stations at 20 m depth. Bacteria were enumerated by flow cytometry after nucleic acid staining with syto13 and two subgroups were differentiated: low nucleic acid content (LNA) and high nucleic acid content (HNA) bacteria. Total bacterial numbers varied from 0.37 to 5.53 10(5) cells mL-1. HNA cells represented 15 to 70 percent of the total number while LNA cells represented 30 to 85 percent. Heterotrophic bacterial production was determined by incorporation of tritiated leucine and ranged from 2.7 to 171.07 ng C L-1 h-1. No significant correlation was found between abundance and production. Nevertheless with support of multivariate analysis between bacterial abundance, bacterial production, chlorophyll a and other oceanographic data the distribution of the groups in two different oceanic provinces could be explained by nutrient availability. HNA bacteria accounted for the high percentage of cells found in the area north of 19°S, linked to higher temperature waters and riverine nutrients inputs. LNA bacteria were the dominant cells south of this latitude and were correlated to the higher values of nitrate found for the same area.

Um estudo do bacterioplâncton foi realizado numa área extensa do Oceano Atlântico Sudoeste entre 13 e 25°S e 28 e 42°W. As amostras foram coletadas em 108 estações oceanográficas a 20 m de profundidade. A abundância bacteriana foi determinada por citometria de fluxo após coloração dos ácidos nucléicos com Syto13. Dois grupos de bactérias foram enumerados e distinguidos: bactérias com alto conteúdo de ácidos nucleicos (HNA) e bactérias com baixo conteúdo de ácidos nucleicos (LNA). O número de bactérias variou de 0,37 a 5,53 10(5) células mL-1. As células HNA representaram de 15 a 70 por cento da abundância total enquanto as células LNA representaram de 30 a 85 por cento. A produção bacteriana foi determinada por incorporação de leucina tritiada e variou de 2,7 a 171,07 ng C L-1 h-1. A correlação entre abundância e produção bacterianas não foi significativa. Entretanto uma análise multivariada realizada entre abundância, produção, clorofila a e outros dados oceanográficos revelou que a distribuição dos dois grupos em diferentes províncias oceânicas pode ser atribuída a disponibilidade de nutrientes. As bactérias HNA foram responsáveis pelo maior percentual de células na área ao norte de 19°S e estiveram relacionadas às águas quentes e aos nutrientes de origem pluvial. As bactérias LNA foram dominantes ao sul dessa latitude e estiveram relacionadas à disponibilidade de nitrato cujos valores foram mais altos nessa região.

Population dynamics of Pseudevadne tergestina (Branchiopoda: Onychopoda) in Guanabara Bay, Brazil

A variação temporal de densidade e dos parâmetros populacionais de Pseudevadne tergestina foi estudada na Baía de Guanabara. As coletas foram realizadas na superfície de uma estação fixa, a cada 3-4 dias, de fevereiro a agosto de 2000. Os máximos de abundância dessa espécie foram observados em março, com densidades variando de 20 a 600 ind.m-3. Foram calculadas as taxas de nascimento (0,25-0,90 ind.dia-1), de crescimento (-0,30 -0,90 ind.dia-1) e de mortalidade (-1,6 - 1,9 dia-1). O início da população pode ser atribuído ao aumento da temperatura e à eclosão dos ovos de resistências. A população entra em colapso no outono - inverno, como conseqüência dos efeitos combinados de diversos fatores: a diminuição da temperatura da água (de 27ºC para 21ºC) influenciando o tempo de desenvolvimento dos ovos (de 2,27 para 3,28 dias), a predação por Chaetognatha cuja densidade alcançou 100 ind.m-3 e a mudança de estratégia reprodutiva de P. tergestina, de partenogênica para gametogênica. O transporte das águas pelas correntes contribui também na redução da densidade populacional dessa espécie.