| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 319.77 KB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The Esmoriz–Paramos lagoon is one important
ecosystem located in the Northwest coast of
Portugal. This study is concerned with the assessment
of pollution of the lagoon contributed by urban,
industrial and agricultural activities. The parameters
selected for this aim were the occurrence of hepatic
histological alterations and plasma blood biochemistry
in Liza saliens, the dominant fish in this lagoon. Blood
parameters were compared between mullets collected
from the lagoon and from the sea and included plasma
enzyme activities (aspartate aminotransferase (AST),
alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase
(ALP)), glucose (GLU) and total protein (TP).Apositive
relationship between hepatocyte vacuolization index
and hepatosomatic index was found, suggesting that
lipid accumulation could have contributed to the
increase of liver weight. The hepatic alterations
recorded included general diagnostic categories and
additionally large areas of heterogeneous parenchyma,
composed of hepatocytes with different spectrum of
vacuolization. Liver histopathological evaluation
revealed a sample prevalence of 34% for heterogeneous
parenchyma, 31% for foci of necrosis and 9%
for non-neoplastic lesions. No neoplastic lesions were
found. Livers with heterogeneous parenchyma
showed higher Cu and Zn content than livers without
this category of lesion, suggesting that metals
accumulated could trigger this hepatic alteration.
AST was higher in mullets from the lagoon than in
mullets from the sea, but no differences in ALP and
ALT were found, suggesting a change in protein
metabolism as an adaptive response to metals
exposure. The higher glucose and protein contents
observed in fish caught in the lagoon are consistent
with a stress response and the measurement of plasma
AST activity could be a sensitive indicator of lagoon
fish stress. In conclusion, Esmoriz–Paramos lagoon
biomonitorization, using indicator species will proceed
to assess the impact of the restoration program
under development by the Portuguese government.
Description
Keywords
Hepatic lesions Plasma transaminases Heavy metals Chronic exposure
Citation
Fernandes, Conceição; Fontainhas-Fernandes, A.; Rocha, E.; Salgado, M.A. (2008). Monitoring pollution in Esmoriz–Paramos lagoon, Portugal: liver histological and biochemical effects in Liza saliens. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 145:1-3, p. 315-322
Publisher
Springer