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The effect of climate change and microplastics on the physiology of marine invertebrates of economic interest
Summary
This thesis examines how climate change and microplastic pollution interact to affect the physiology of marine invertebrates important for aquaculture. Combined stressors were found to have compounding effects on organisms like mussels and oysters, threatening both ecosystems and food security.
A aquicultura é altamente dependente do clima e, portanto, a mudança climática é uma ameaça para a produção global de alimentos. Simultaneamente à mudança climática as zonas costeiras sofrem outras pressões antrópicas como poluição, construção de portos, industrialização, atividades recreativas, dentre outras atividades. Nesse contexto, os plásticos representam cerca de 90% do lixo marinho. A mudança climática e a poluição por microplásticos são uma ameaça ambiental global e podem gerar danos e prejuízos à biodiversidade e à aquicultura. Dessa forma, o presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar por meio de duas abordagens uma malha de processos fisiológicos de crustáceos e moluscos de interesse econômico, expostos à acidificação oceânica e alterações de salinidade previstas pelo IPCC, bem como ao microplástico, um contaminante emergente. Na primeira abordagem utilizamos do balanço energético como uma ferramenta para avaliar os efeitos da acidificação oceânica e das variações de salinidade em Penaeus vannamei. O balanço energético descreve como a energia ingerida é canalizada para os processos fisiológicos e se mostrou uma boa ferramenta para a compreensão do fluxo de energia em espécies sujeitas a alterações climáticas. A segunda abordagem foi investigar os efeitos do microplástico na fisiologia de moluscos e crustáceos marinhos e/ou estuarinos mantidos nas salinidades em que são encontrados na natureza. Em geral, nossos resultados mostram que a combinação dos fatores causa alterações importantes nos parâmetros fisiológicos, como metabolismo, excreção de amônia, osmorregulação, entre outros avaliados e nos atenta ainda mais a necessidade de medidas mitigatórias para que os organismos e a sociedade consigam se adaptar a esses novos desafios.
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