Relationship between metal concentrations in the sediment, bioaccumulation and toxic responses in p. vivipara:subsidies for the environmental risk assessment

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between exposure to stressors and biological effects is fundamental for sediment risk assessment. Establishing the relationship between environmental contamination, bioaccumulation and biological responses with different levels of severity is, therefore, important to understand the risks posed by metals to fish. However, the bioaccumulation of metals is not dependent only on the level of exposure and environmental conditions that interfere with bioavailability, but also on the biochemical and physiological activity dealing with the internal levels of metals. The aim of the current proposal is to assess the dose-response relationship between environmental exposure to metals in the sediment, bioaccumulation and toxic responses in fish. To do so, individuals of Poecilia vivipara will be exposed to a metal contamination gradient in sediments under controlled laboratory conditions, and the levels of metal in the tissues and biomarkers responses at different levels of biological organization (different degrees of severity), i.e. sub-cellular, cellular and tissue levels, will be evaluated. This study will contribute to a better interpretation of the causality between exposure, internal levels and toxic responses to metals, which will allow improving aquatic environments management tools. (AU)