Abstract
To assess the primary stresses that affect environmental quality, recent benthic foraminiferal distribution in Brazilian domestic outfalls of Baixada Santista, São Paulo State (Santos Bay, Long Beach, Guraujá Cove), close to oil refineries in Todos Santos Bay (BA), Guanabara Bay (RJ), and Sao Sebastião Channel, and from environments polluted by pesticides in Laguna (SC) were compared through foraminifera species in 250 sediment samples.
In Santos Bay, living species of Buliminella elegantissima and Bolivina spp. reflect the large amount of organic substances exiting the sewers, however, the occurrence of large amounts of aerobic and anaerobic species seems to indicate that, while the eastern portion of the Santos Bay and the region near the outfall are probably subject to contamination, these environments are relatively well oxygenated due to high dynamic circulation in the Bay. Brackish rivers and mangroves in Santos Bay are populated by Arenoparrella mexicana, Haplophragmoides wilberti, Ammotium salsum, Gaudryina exillis, Miliammina fusca, Paratrochammina sp., P. clossi, Polysaccammina ipohalina, Siphotrochammina lobata, Warrenita palustris, Glomospira gordialis, Ammobaculites ssp., Trochammina inflata.
Aerobic species in Long Beach are more abundant in the northern portion with higher densities being correlated with the distance to the outfall. In the Guaruja Cove, species of anaerobic environments are comparatively more abundant near the outfall output, and the occurrence of large concentrations of anaerobic and aerobic species in the western portion of the Guaruja Cove seems to reflect the North Eastern current system, which penetrates this portion of the Bay. Apparently, although there is evidence of contamination in this area, the system presents current conditions of relatively well-oxygenated environments. In Todos Santos Bay, Ammonia spp., Bolivina spp., Fursenkoina pontoni tolerate sediment with aliphatics, whereas Elphidium spp. decreases under the influence of petroleum-derived pollutants. In Guanabara Bay, Buliminella elegantissima, Bolivina striatula, Bulimmina elongata flourish under conditions of poorly oxygenated waters in organic enriched sediments. On the other hand, Quinqueloculina seminulum shows intolerance to poorly oxygenated bottom water, and Cassidulina subglobosa and Discorbis williamsoni are governed by lower temperature and higher salinities in the Bay’s entrance, showing marine influence capable of renewing waters. In São Sebastião Channel, most anaerobic species were alive, indicating that the density of organic matter is not yet affecting the fauna of foraminifera. The São Sebastião channel and Laguna estuarine system presented Buccella peruviana as a coldwater species showing the influence of Malvinas currents. In relation to the petroleum pollutant outfall in São Sebastião, fauna are distributed along a remarkable gradient related to the distance from the outfall. The dominance of Ammonia spp., Bolivina spp., Buliminella elegantisssima, and Fursenkoina pontoni in high organic sediments shows slight contamination. Miliamina fusca denotes the presence of freshwater, as well as its tolerance to polluted sediments. On the other hand, Hanzawaia boueana, Pseudononion atlanticum, Discorbis williamsoni, D. floridana, Quinqueloculina spp., Pararotalia cananeiaensis, Cassidulina subglobosa, Elphidium spp., Poreoponides lateralis, and Pyrgo sp. reflect high intensity marine currents. In Laguna, the presence of Buccella peruviana, Bolivia striatula, Cassidulina subglobosa, Pseudononion atlanticum, Saccamina sphaera, Quinqueloculina miletti, Q. patagonica, Ammonia tepida, and Elphidium poeyanum is an indicator of marine water intrusion. As fresh water indicators, Ammobaculites exigus, Gaudryina exillis, Ammotium salsum, and Miliammina fusca, together with the thecamoebians, inhabit environments with the highest freshwater input. It was also noted that M. fusca is the only species that tolerates pesticides contamination.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alve E (1991) Benthic foraminifera in sediment cores reflecting heavy-metal pollution in Sorfjord, Western Norway. J Foraminifer Res 21(1):1–19
Alve E (1995) Benthic foraminiferal responses to estuarine pollution: a review. J Paleontol 25(3):190–204
Bonetti C, van der HC (2000) Foraminíferos como bioindicadores do gradiente de estresse ecológico em ambientes costeiros poluídos. Estudo aplicado ao sistema estuarino de Santos – São Vincente (SP, Brasil). Tese de Doutoramento, Instituto Oceanografico, Universidade de São Paulo, 209p
Cardoso BPK (2000) Caracterização dos foraminíferos no Canal de São Sebastião (SP) e, sua utilização como indicadores de massa d’água e de algumas variáveis ambientais. Dissertação de Mestrado. Instituto Oceanográfico da Universidade de São Paulo, 170p
Culver SJ, Buzas MA (1995) The effects of anthropogenic habitat disturbance, habitat destruction, and global warming on shallow marine benthic foraminifera. J Foramin Res 25(3):204–211
Debenay JP, Eichler BB, Guillou JJ, Eichler PPB, Coelho Júnior C, Porto Filho É (1997) Comportment des pleuplements de foraminiféres et comparaison avec l’avifaune dans une lagune fortement etratifiée: La Lagoa da Conceição (SC, Bresil) Rèvue de Palèobiologie de Gèneve 16,110
Debenay JP, Eichler BB, Duleba W, Bonetti C, Eichler PPB (1998) Water stratification in coastal lagoons: its influence on foraminiferal assemblages in two Brazilian lagoons. Mar Micropaleontol 35:67–89
Debenay JP, Duleba W, Bonetti C, Melo E, Souza SH, Eichler BB (2001a) A Pararotalia cananeiaensis n sp, indicator of marine influence and water circulation in Brazilian coastal and paralic environments. J Foramin Res 31:152–163
Debenay JP, Geslin E, Eichler BB, Duleba W, Sylvestre F, Eichler PPB (2001b) Foraminiferal assemblages in a Hypersaline lagoon, Araruama, (RJ), Brazil. J Foramin Res 31(2):133–151
Duleba W, Debenay JP, Eichler BB, Mahiques MM (1999) Holocene environmental and water circulation changes: foraminifer morph group evidence in Flamengo Bay (SP, Brazil). J Coast Res 15(2):554–571
Duleba W, Debenay JP (2003) Hydrodynamic circulation in the estuaries of estação ecológica Juréia-Itatins, Brazil, inferred from foraminifera and thecamoebian assemblages. J Foraminifer Res 33(1):62–93
Eichler BB, Eichler PPB, Miranda LB, Bérgamo AL, Bernardes MEC, Pereira ERM, Kfouri, PBP, Pimenta FM (2001) Utilização de foraminíferos como bioindicadores da influência marinha na Baía de Guanabara, (RJ, Brasil). Rev Pesquisas 28 (2): 251–282. Instituto de Geociências. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Eichler PPB, Eichler BB, Miranda LB de, Pereira ERM, Kfouri, PBP, Pimenta FM, Bérgamo AL, Vilela CG (2003) Benthic foraminiferal response to variations in temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and organic carbon, in the Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An Inst. de Geoc, 25: (www.igeo.ufrj.br) Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Eichler PPB, Eichler BB, David CJ, de Miranda LB, de Souza ECPM (2004a) The estuary ecosystem of Bertioga, São Paulo, Brazil. J Coast Res 39:1110–1113
Eichler PPB, Castelão GP, Pimenta FM, Eichler BB, de Miranda LB, Rodrigues AR, Pereira ER (2004b) Foraminifera and thecamoebians as indicator of hydrodynamic process in a chocked coastal lagoon, Laguna estuarine system, SC, Brazil. J Coast Res 39:1144–1148
Eichler PPB, Castelão GP, Pimenta FM, Eichler BB (2006) Avaliação da Saúde Ecológica do Sistema Estuarino de Laguna (SC) Pesquisas em Geociências (UFRGS) 33: 101–115
Eichler PPB, Eichler BB, de Miranda LB, Rodrigues AR (2007) Foraminiferal assemblages in a subtropical, mixohaline, estuarine channel, Bertioga (São Paulo). Braz J Res 37:45–58
Eichler PPB, Sen Gupta BK, Eichler BB, Braga ES, Campos EJ (2008) Benthic foraminiferal assemblages of the South Brazil: relationship to water masses and nutrient distributions. Cont Shelf Res 28:1674–1686
Eichler BB, Cardoso PBPK, Souza SHME, Furtado VV, Eichler PPB (2009) Foraminíferos como indicadores biológicas de massas de água In: Oceanografia de um ecossistema subtropical São Paulo. EDUSP, 368–379
Eichler PPB, Billups K, Velez CC (2010) Investigating faunal and geochemical methods for tracing salinity in an Atlantic Coastal lagoon, Delaware, USA. J Foramin Res 40:14–33
Eichler PPB, Eichler BB, Sen GB, Rodrigues AR (2012) Foraminifera as indicators of marine pollutant contamination on the inner continental shelf of Southern Brazil. Mar Pollut Bull 64:22–30
Eichler-Coelho PPB, Duleba W, Eichler BB, Coelho Júnior C (1996) Influência do rompimento da barragem do Valo Grande (Iguape, S. Paulo) nas associações de Foraminíferos e Tecamebas. Revista Pesquisas UFRGS 23(1):35–40
Eichler-Coelho PPB, Duleba W, Eichler BB, Coelho Júnior C (1997) Determinação do impacto ecológico do Valo Grande (Iguape) a partir das associações de Foramíníferos e Tecamebas. Revista Brasileira de Biologia (Impresso). Brazilian J Biol (Impresso), Rio de Janeiro 57(3):463–477. ISSN 1519-6984
Pereira ERM, Eichler PPB, Eichler BB (2004) Foraminifera as proxies in environmental diagnostic in Guanabara Bay, RJ. J Coast Res 39:1395–1398
Rodrigues AR, Eichler PPB, Eichler BB (2003) Biomonitoramento das associações de foraminíferos no Rio Trindade, Canal de Bertioga (SP, Brasil) Rev Atl 25(1):35–5 Fundação Universidade do Rio Grande
Vilela CG (2003) Taphonomy of benthic foraminiferal tests of the Amazon shelf. J Foraminifer Res 33(2):132–143
Vilela CG, Batista DS, Baptista-Neto JA, Crapez M, Mcallister JJ (2004) Benthic foraminifera distribution in high polluted sediments from Niterói Harbor (Guanabara Bay) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An Acad Bras Cienc 76:161–171
Vilela CG, Figueira BO, Baptista Neto JÁ (2007) Ecology and paleoecology in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, during the last 6000 years based in benthic foraminifera assemblage variations. In: Carvalho IS, Cassab RCT, Schwanke C (eds) Paleontologia: cenários de vida, 2nd edn. Interciência, Rio de Janeiro, pp 345–361
Vilela CG, Batista DS, Baptista Neto J, Ghiselli RO (2011) Benthic foraminifera distribution in a tourist lagoon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a response to anthropogenic impacts. Mar Pollut Bull 62:2055–2074
Yanko V (1997) Benthic foraminifera as bioindicators of stress environment: anthropogenic problems – foraminiferal solution. In: Tel Aviv Program & Abstracts: the first international conference application of micropaleontology in environmental sciences. Anamet Ltd, Herzlia, pp 117–119
Yanko V, Kronfeld J, Flexer A (1994) Response of benthic foraminifera to various pollution sources: implications for pollution monitoring. J Foramin Res 24:1–17
Yanko V, Ahmad M, Kaminsky M (1998) Morphological deformities of benthic foraminiferal tests in response to pollution by heavy metals: implications for pollution monitoring. J Foramin Res 28:177–200
Yanko V, Arnold AJ, Parker WC (1999) Effects of marine pollution on benthic foraminifera. In: Sen Gupta BK (ed) Modern Foraminifera. Kluwer Academic, New York, pp 217–235
Acknowledgments
We thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) through the Edital Ciências do Mar (207/2010) for the Post Doc Fellowship at the Laboratório de Geologia e Geofísica Marinha e Monitoramento Ambiental da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (GGEMMA-UFRN-Brazil).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Eichler, P.P.B., Eichler, B.B., Vital, H. (2015). Marine Pollution-Environmental Indicators in Marine Meiofauna from Brazil. In: Armon, R., Hänninen, O. (eds) Environmental Indicators. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9499-2_32
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9499-2_32
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-017-9498-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-9499-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)