Electrocoagulation/flotation followed by fluidized bed anaerobic reactor applied to tannery effluent treatment

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Endocrine changes in cerebrospinal fluid, pituitary effluent, and peripheral plasma of anesthetized ponies

Objective - To investigate the effects of inhalation and total IV anesthesia on pituitary-adrenal activity in ponies. Animals - 9 healthy ponies: 5 geldings and 4 mares. Procedure - Catheters were placed in the cavernous sinus below the pituitary gland and in the subarachnoid space via the lumbosacral space. After 72 hours, administration of acepromazine was followed by induction of anesthesia with thiopentone and maintenance with halothane (halothane protocol), or for the IV protocol, anesthesia induction with detomidine and ketamine was followed by maintenance with IV infusion of a detomidine-ketamine-guaifenesin combination. Arterial blood pressure and gas tensions were measured throughout anesthesia. Peptide and catecholamine concentrations were measured in pituitary effluent, peripheral plasma, and CSF. Peripheral plasma cortisol, glucose, and lactate concentrations also were measured. Results - Intravenous anesthesia caused less cardiorespiratory depression than did halothane. ACTH, metenkephalin, arginine vasopressin, and norepinephrine pituitary effluent and peripheral plasma concentrations were higher during halothane anesthesia, with little change during intravenous anesthesia. Pituitary effluent plasma β-endorphin and peripheral plasma cortisol concentrations increased during halothane anesthesia only. Dynorphin concentrations did not change in either group. Hyperglycemia developed during intravenous anesthesia only Minimal changes occurred in CSF hormonal concentrations during anesthesia. Conclusion - The pituitary gland has a major role in maintaining circulating peptides during anesthesia. Compared with halothane, IV anesthesia appeared to suppress pituitary secretion.

Reproductive biology of the shrimp Rimapenaeus constrictus (Decapoda, Penaeidae) in the ubatuba region of Brazil

Sexual maturity, temporal reproductive pattern, and recruitment of juveniles were examined for the shrimp Rimapenaeus constrictus at three different bays in the Ubatuba region (Mar Virado, Ubatuba, and Ubatumirim), State of São Paulo (23°S 45°W). Monthly samples were taken from January 1998 to December 1999. The presence or absence of mating plugs (associated with mating and insemination) and ovarian maturity were used to examine breeding in adult females. The whole sample comprised 3863 females and 1468 males. Estimates of size (carapace length) at the onset of sexual maturity were 7.0 mm and 7.8 mm for males and females, respectively. Higher percentage of females bearing ripe gonads was observed during spring and summer over the course of the study, contrasting to the low proportion in fall 1998 and winter 1999. Juvenile shrimps were sampled year-round. These results suggest a continuous reproductive pattern for R. constrictus. Mating, spawning, and juvenile recruitment took place mostly in shallow waters up to 20-m depths in the study region. Warm to mild temperatures may favour the spawning pattern observed in this species. The classical paradigm of continuous reproduction at lower latitudes, with increased seasonality of breeding period at higher latitudes, seems to apply to this species.

Mutagenic potential evaluation of the water of a river that receives tannery effluent using the Allium cepa test system

Several studies are being conducted to assess the toxicity and cytotoxicity of water bodies receiving industrial and domestic effluents, using the Allium cepa test. To assess the toxicity and mutagenicity of water possibly contaminated with chromium, derived from tannery activities, seasonal water samplings were performed in 2001 and 2002 at five different sites along the Sapucaizinho river, Municipality of Patrocinio Paulista, State of São Paulo, Brazil. A. cepa seeds were used as the test material and were submitted to germination in waters from the different collection sites, in Milli-Q water (negative control) and in aqueous solution of chromium (positive control). For the determination of cell division rates and mitotic irregularities, slides were prepared with root tip cells according to the standard Feulgen methodology. The results showed that the collection sites most heavily compromised by chromium emission presented low mitotic indices and a higher frequency of mitotic changes such as irregular anaphases (disorganized, multipolar, laggard), cells with chromosomal adherences, cells with micronuclei, and binucleate and/or multinucleate cells. © 2004 The Japan Mendel Society.

Population structure of the seabob shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) (Crustacea: Penaeoidea) in the littoral of São Paulo, Brazil

The population structure of the penaeidean shrimp Xyphopenacus kroyeri was studied in Ubatuba Bay, Ubatuba, Sd̃ao Paulo, Brazil. The period and site of juvenile recruitment were monitored using a monthly sampling design with eight fixed areas (transects) from September 1995 to August 1996. The population structure was assessed using size frequency distributions (based on carapace length) for each month and sampling area. Females were significantly larger than males, suggesting a differential growth between sexes. The very low occurrence of large adults in the Bay can be related to offshore migration for reproduction. Recruitment occurred throughout the year, with a peak during the summer, when the highest recruitment rates were obtained along inshore transects. The present investigation revealed valuable information on the biology of the species mainly in the study region, which is considered a nursery ground for juveniles of X. kroyeri. The species showed an important variation from the typical life cycle that it is assumed to hold over its entire range and X. kroyeri should be classified as having a life cycle different from that proposed previously in the literature, i.e. the juveniles prefer inshore areas instead of estuaries. Some suggestions for the seabob fishery management are proposed as an alternative for minimising the impact during the harvest period and adjusting the protection schedule.

Evaluation of the genotoxic potential due to the action of an effluent contaminated with chromium, by the comet assay in CHO-K1 cultures

The comet assay technique has been considered to be more efficient in the biomonitoring of aquatic environments that the micronucleus and sister chromatid exchange techniques. The comet assay has been used to determine breaks in the DNA strands of organisms exposed to pollutants with a genotoxic potential. The comet technique was applied to CHO-K1 cells in order to evaluate the genotoxic potential of the waters of the Sapucaizinho River (Municipality of Patrocínio Paulista, State of São Paulo, Brazil), which receive tannery effluents and therefore are contaminated with chromium. The results indicated high genotoxicity of the waters collected at sites located downstream from the emission of tannery effluents, where the concentration of chromium was found to be high.

Tratamento de efluentes de carcinicultura por macrófitas aquáticas flutuantes

The efficiency of systems composed of two species of floating aquatic macrophyte (Eichhornia crassipes and Pistia stratiotes) to treat effluents from shrimp culture was evaluated in this research. The effluent originated from a pond populated with Macrobrachium amazonicum. Treatment systems consisted of 12 experimental tanks with aquatic macrophyte and three tanks without plants (control). Water samples were collected from the fresh water supply and before and after passing through the treatment systems. There are no differences in the removal of nutrients between the two species. The higher nutrient removal was observed for total phosphorus (41.9% by control; 71.6% by E. crassipes; 69.9 by P. stratiotes; 72.5% by E. crassipes + P. stratiotes and 72.1 by P. stratiotes + E. crassipes) and turbidity (30.6% by control; 80.2% by E. crassipes; 75.2 by P. stratiotes; 79.8% by E. crassipes + P. stratiotes and 81.5 by P. stratiotes + E. crassipes). The systems containing aquatic macrophytes were efficient in nitrogen and phosphorus removal from M. amazonicum culture. © 2008 Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia.

Spatial and temporal distribution of the shrimp nematopalaemon schmitti (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae) at a subtropical enclosed bay in South America

The spatio-temporal distribution of the soft bottom dwelling shrimp Nematopalaemon schmitti and the effect of environmental conditions (sediment characteristics, temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen) on its abundance were studied at Ubatuba Bay, south-eastern coast of Brazil. Surveys were conducted monthly from September 1995 to August 1996. Each sampling set comprised eight different transects distributed within the bay. Comparisons of CPUE of shrimp among sampling stations demonstrated that the abundance of N. schmitti was the greatest during winter, when average water temperature within the bay was considerably lower than during the rest of the year. Most shrimps (more than 95%) were collected at a single transect located at the northernmost side of the bay, demonstrating the extremely patchy distribution of this species. A multiple regression analysis using data only from this northernmost transect indicated that temperature was the most relevant factor affecting the abundance of N. schmitti during the year. Copyright © 2009 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

Anaerobic effluent disinfected with ozone/hydrogen peroxide efluente anaeróbio desinfetado com ozônio/peróxido de hidrogênio

This research aimed at studying the oxidation process, to verify the effectiveness of coliform inactivation and to evaluate the formation of ozonation disinfection byproducts (DBP) in anoxic sanitary wastewater treated with ozone/hydrogen peroxide applied at doses of 2.6 mg O3 L-1 and 2.0 mg H2O2 L-1 with contact time of 10 min and 8.1 mg O3 L-1 and 8.0 mg H2O2 L-1 with contact time of 20 min. The mean chemical oxygen demand (COD) reductions were 7.50 and 9.40% for applied dosages of 2.5-2.8 and 6.4-9.4 mg O3 L-1 + 2.0 and 8.0 mg H2O2.L-1, respectively. The Escherichia coli (E. coli) inactivation range was 2.98-4.04 log10 and the total coliform inactivation range was 2.77-4.01 log10. The aldehydes investigated were formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, glyoxal and methylglyoxal. It was observed only the formation of acetaldehyde that ranged 5.53 to 29.68 μg L-1.

Sex ratio, growth and recruitment of the pelagic shrimp Acetes americanus on the southeastern coast of Brazil

We evaluated the population dynamics of Acetes americanus Ortmann, 1893 focusing on sex ratio, individual growth, longevity, and the juvenile recruitment period. Samples were collected monthly from January 2006 to June 2007 in the bay of Ubatuba, Brazil. Specimen growth was identified for each gender, and the chosen cohorts were fitted in a von Bertalanffy Growth Model (VBGM); longevity was estimated by the von Bertalanffy inverse equation, considering 99% of the asymptotic length. A total of 6881 individuals (2343 males and 4538 females) were captured. On average the body size (total length) was greater in females (14.64 ± 3.34 mm) than in males (12.27 ± 1.86 mm). The mean growth curves (obtained by grouping the cohorts for each sex), provided estimates of TL∞ = 19.33 mm, k = 0.02 and t0 = -0.12 days for females and TL∞ = 15.13 mm, k = 0.03 and to = -0.07 days for males, where TL∞ is the asymptotic length, k is coefficient of growth and to is the theorical age when the size is equal to 0. Longevity was estimated at 0.61 years for females and 0.50 years for males. The sex ratio tended to favor females, which corroborates with others studies of sergestids. Our finding that males of A. americanus have higher values of k and therefore achieve a smaller size relative to females has been observed in other penaeids. We concluded that this differential growth pattern between the sexes is found across Dendrobranchiata. The life cycles of penaeids have an average duration of approximately 1-2 years, but our results corroborate other studies that estimate a shorter longevity for Acetes, as species of this genus are typically smaller in size. We found continuous recruitment with two main peaks observed during the study period, corroborating previous studies of Acetes. © The Crustacean Society, 2013. Published by Brill NV, Leiden.

Population dynamics of the seabob shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Dendrobranchiata, Penaeidae) in south-eastern Brazil

The population dynamics, including the sex ratio, reproductive period, individual growth and longevity, and population structure of the shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri, are described. The shrimps were collected monthly from July 2005 to June 2007 at four sites in Ubatuba Bay, Brazil. The salinity, temperature, depth, organic matter content and sediment grain size were measured at each site. Specimens were quantified and sexed, their carapace length measured and their gonads were classified according to the stage of maturation. A von Bertalanffy model was used to estimate the individual growth, and longevity was calculated using its inverted formula. In total, 6 470 individuals were examined and the number of males and females differed significantly in favour of females. During some periods, the segregation could be related to the reproductive period. Reproductive females were captured throughout the sampled period, and there were biannual peaks that were followed by peaks of juveniles. Carapace growth was less for males than for females, which is likely related to oocyte production and the higher fecundity of the females. The higher probability of female capture can be related to their longer foraging to sustain the enhanced food requirement during the ovarian maturation period. © 2013 Copyright NISC (Pty) Ltd.

Effects of intensification of the amazon river prawn, macrobrachium amazonicum, grow-out on effluent quality

Studies to determine suitable levels of intensification are essential for developing sustainable aquaculture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of effluents discharged from ponds stocked with 10 (D10), 20 (D20), 40 (D40), and 80 (D80) postlarvae of Macrobrachium amazonicum/m2. Intake and effluent water samples were taken throughout a 5.5-mo grow-out cycle. In that study, twelve 0.01-ha earthen ponds were stocked postlarvae with 0.01g. Average water exchange rate was 15%/d; water was discharged from the bottom of the ponds. Prawns were fed a commercial feed with 38% crude protein according to their biomass (3-10%) and the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO). In our research, temperature, turbidity, total suspended solids, conductivity, DO, pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), N-ammonia, N-nitrite, N-nitrate, N-Kjeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorus, and soluble orthophosphate were measured every 15d throughout the experiment in the early morning (0630 to 0730h). Turbidity was lower in D10 than in D20 and D40 and total phosphorus was higher in D80 than in D10 and D20. An analysis of principal components comparing treatments and intake water showed three groups: intake, D10 and a cluster of D20, D40, and D80. On the basis of the water characteristics found in our study it appears that the farming of M. amazonicum is likely to have a low environmental impact, at least up to a stocking density of 80prawns/m2. © by the World Aquaculture Society 2013.

Histochemical study of the hepatopancreas in adult females of the pink-shrimp Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis Latreille, 1817

This study provides histochemical data of the hepatopancreatic cells of adult female pink-shrimp (Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis) at two different developmental stages (those with developed gonads and those with exhausted gonads). The F. brasiliensis females were collected in seawater off the Guarapari coast, Espirito Santo, Brazil. Five cell types were identified in this digestive gland: B (vesicular), E (embryonic), F (fibrillar), M (basal) and R (resorptive). The digestive gland was stained with the following techniques: PAS/Alcian blue (for polysaccharides), bromophenol blue (for protein), von Kossa (for bound calcium) and Baker (for lipids). Acid glycoconjugates were found inside vacuoles in the R cells, while neutral polysaccharides were present in the B cells and near to the microvilli. In females with exhausted gonads polysaccharides were also seen in the intertubular spaces and inside the lumina of the tubules. The F and M cells were the most marked by the presence of large amounts of proteins observed in R cells and also inside the vacuoles of B cells. The bound calcium was mainly found in the F and M cells. The F cells showed strong positive staining for lipid while the R cell only stained weakly. The E cells did not react to any of the applied staining techniques. The similarities in the histochemical composition of these hepatopancreatic cells in females with developed gonads, compared to exhausted ones, is justified by the fact that transfer of these elements to the oocytes occurs, in significant quantity, only during the initial stages of gonadal development in F. brasiliensis. Also, they may be more related to the molt stage, as in the case of calcium salts. © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Utilização de macrófitas aquáticas flutuantes no tratamento de efluentes de carcinicultura

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)