Ricardo Beiras - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ricardo Beiras
Aquaculture
This study evaluates the risk posed by selected organic pollutants on the culture of the marine m... more This study evaluates the risk posed by selected organic pollutants on the culture of the marine mussel in the Galician coast (NW Iberian Peninsula), which depends on collection of natural seed in densely populated coastal areas. With this aim toxicity tests were carried out with embryos of the Mytilus galloprovincialis mussel, and the toxicity of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and the biocides TBT, chlorpyrifos and lindane was quantified in terms of median effective concentration (EC50) and toxicity threshold (EC10 and LOEC), using embryogenesis success as end point. The EC10 and EC50 values were 161 and 377 ng/L for TBT, 79 and 154 µg/L for chlorpyrifos, 495 and 2353 µg/L for SDS, 1.41 and 1.99 mg/L for lindane. Toxicity thresholds for mussel embryos from this study and crustacean larvae from the literature were compared to environmental concentrations in coastal waters, either directly measured or estimated from mussel bioaccumulation data, in an attempt to evaluate ...
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Marine Pollution Bulletin
The toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined using mussel, sea-urchin a... more The toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined using mussel, sea-urchin and ascidian embryo-larval bioassays. Fluorescent light exposure enhanced phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene and hydroxypyrene toxicity in comparison with dark conditions, but not naphthalene and fluorene toxicity. The toxicity of PAHs was inversely related to their K(OW) values following QSAR models derived for baseline toxicity of general narcotics, whereas the obtained regression using toxicity data from photoactivated PAHs significantly departed from the general narcosis model. Also, the mixture toxicity of five PAHs to the larval growth of the sea-urchin was compared with predictions derived from the concentration addition concept, indicating less than additive effects. Finally, we compared our toxicity data with worst-case environmental concentrations in order to provide a preliminary estimate of the risk to the marine environment. Naphthalene, fluorene and pyrene are not considered...
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Science of The Total Environment
Acute toxicity and phototoxicity of heavy fuel oil extracted directly from the sunken tanker Pres... more Acute toxicity and phototoxicity of heavy fuel oil extracted directly from the sunken tanker Prestige in comparison to a standard Marine fuel oil were evaluated by obtaining the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) and using mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus embryogenesis bioassays, and copepod Acartia tonsa and fish Cyprinodon variegatus survival bioassays. Aromatic hydrocarbon (AH) levels in WAF were measured by gas chromatography. Prestige WAF was not phototoxic, its median effective concentrations (EC50) were 13% and 10% WAF for mussel and sea urchin respectively, and maximum lethal threshold concentrations (MLTC) were 12% and 50% for copepod and fish respectively. Marine WAF resulted phototoxic for mussel bioassay. EC50s of Marine WAF were 50% for sea urchin in both treatments and 20% for mussel under illumination. Undiluted Marine WAF only caused a 20% decrease in mussel normal larvae. Similar sensitivities were found among sea urchins, mussels...
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Water Air and Soil Pollution
An assessment of the environmental quality of sediments at several locations of the Ría de Pontev... more An assessment of the environmental quality of sediments at several locations of the Ría de Pontevedra (NW of Spain) was performed by integrating toxicity data obtained from multiespecies bioassays, chemical data from analysis of mussels and sediment, and physical–chemical parameters of the sampled sites. Subsequently, a toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) method intended for characterization and identification of the toxic agents was applied to the most polluted location by using the Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin bioassay. Both metals and organic compounds seem to be the causative agents of toxicity in elutriates of the studied sediment. Finally, multivariate statistics were applied for a better interpretation of results. A factor analysis was developed to establish the relationship among variables and to derive local sediment quality guidelines (SQG) by linking chemical contamination to biological effects. When multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were performed to...
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Chemosphere
In the present work, we investigated the potential use of several antioxidant enzymes in wild mus... more In the present work, we investigated the potential use of several antioxidant enzymes in wild mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) as biomarkers of marine pollution. The enzymatic activity levels of glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) were measured in gills and digestive gland. Those enzymes participate in the cellular defense system that is involved in the adaptive response of organisms to chemical pollution. Adult mussels were collected at five sampling sites located at the Ría de Pontevedra and Ría de Vigo. Seasonal variations in the control site were observed for the CAT activity, but no significant variability was found for GST and GPx. Mussels from the most polluted sites exhibited a significantly greater GST activity compared to the control site (p<0.05) during the sampling period, whereas GPx and CAT activities have not such a marked pattern. Trace metals, PAHs, PCBs and DDT contents in mussels at sampling sites showed highly si...
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Continental Shelf Research
Elutriate embryo-larval bioassays with sea-urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) were conducted concurr... more Elutriate embryo-larval bioassays with sea-urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) were conducted concurrently with chemical analyses of sediments and biota as part of an integrative assessment of pollution in highly productive coastal regions. High metal contents and organic compounds in sediments and mussels were found in localised areas from the inner part of the estuaries indicating a clear anthropogenic influence. In particular, average maximum concentrations of 2803 mg Cu/kg dw, 776 mg Pb/kg dw, 2.5 mg Hg/kg dw and 5803 μg ∑7PAHs/kg dw were measured in sediments from the most polluted sites. Significant correlations were observed between sediment chemistry and toxicity bioassays. Moreover, the Mantel test revealed a significant correlation (rM=0.80; p<0.01) between sediment pollutant concentrations and toxicity data profiles. In addition, sediment quality criteria were used to help in the ecological interpretation of sediment chemistry data and to identify pollutants of concern. Th...
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Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part A Molecular & Integrative Physiology
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Chemosphere
Elutriate embryo-larval bioassays with sea-urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) and ascidians (Ciona i... more Elutriate embryo-larval bioassays with sea-urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) and ascidians (Ciona intestinalis) were conducted concurrently with trace metal analyses as part of an integrative assessment of sediment pollution at Ría de Pontevedra (Galicia, NW Spain). High metal contents in sediments were found in localised areas from the inner part of the estuary indicating a clear anthropogenic influence. In particular, very high Cu, Zn and Pb levels were found at sites P2 and P3, which were also the most toxic to the embryo-larval bioassays. Sediment quality guidelines were used to help in the ecological interpretation of sediment chemistry data and to identify pollutants of concern. Cu and Zn in P3 were consistently above the effects range median (ERM) values, which seem to be good predictors of toxicity to sea-urchin and ascidian embryos. A toxic unit approach, based on published EC(50) values and metal levels in elutriates, was used to assess the harmful ecological effects associa...
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Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2006
Copper speciation in the presence of fulvic acids (FAs) was studied in chemically defined seawate... more Copper speciation in the presence of fulvic acids (FAs) was studied in chemically defined seawater by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SQWASV). A simple complexation model assuming a single type of ligand and a 1:1 reaction stoichiometry successfully explained the measured data. A conditional stability constant of 5.80 6 0.07 and a complexing capacity of 610 6 80 mmol Cu/g
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Environmental Pollution, 2015
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Ecological Indicators, 2015
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Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 2014
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Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 2009
ABSTRACT The current widespread use of benzalkonium chloride (BAC) in different cleaning and disi... more ABSTRACT The current widespread use of benzalkonium chloride (BAC) in different cleaning and disinfecting products led us to investigate its potential toxic effect on phytoplankton. To this aim, different physiological variables were monitored to detect toxicity of four ecologically relevant concentrations of BAC (15–200μg l−1) on batch cultures of the microalgae Isochrysis galbana and Chaetoceros gracilis, and on a coastal phytoplankton assemblage. Fluorescence variables measured by fast repetition rate fluorometry, specifically variable fluorescence (F v), were the most suitable to be used as endpoint among all the variables recorded (biomass, growth rate, size structure, and species composition). Calculated effective concentrations from F v data provided evidences of higher sensitivity in the natural assemblage at short exposure times (natural assemblage—EC50 [24h] = 36.4μg l−1 vs. monoalgae—EC50 [24h] > 120μg l−1). Despite these differences, standard monoalgal laboratory toxicity tests provided comparable estimates of safe concentrations for microalgae in the environment. Assessed EC10 fall within the range of BAC concentrations reported in the literature for different effluents.
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Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 2010
... F0, Fm, Fv and Fv/Fm, measured by means of fast repetition rate fluorometry, on detecting PAH... more ... F0, Fm, Fv and Fv/Fm, measured by means of fast repetition rate fluorometry, on detecting PAHstoxicity. Data obtained are used to select the most sensitive endpoint and to calculate the effective concen-trations for every PAH to this microalgae after a pulse contamination event ...
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Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 2006
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Science of The Total Environment, 2014
As part of an integrative monitoring campaign involving water and sediment chemistry, in situ bio... more As part of an integrative monitoring campaign involving water and sediment chemistry, in situ bioassays, and mussel bioaccumulation and biomarkers, Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels of standard size were transplanted from a clean location to five sites in two important harbours from the Atlantic coast of Spain (Vigo and Pasaia). After a 30-day field exposure, the concentrations of major contaminants (trace metals, polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) accumulated in mussel tissues were measured at each site, and a mussel bioaccumulation index (MBI) was calculated. The enzymatic activity levels of glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were quantified in the gills of transplanted mussels (n=12). Mussels from the most polluted sites consistently exhibited significantly higher GST and GPx activities compared to the control site, whereas AChE activity was significantly inhibited. The responses of the GST and GPx activities were related to MBI, trace metals and PAH concentrations in mussels, whereas AChE activity was related to the trace metals concentrations in mussels. The above results suggest that GST and AChE activities can be used as potential biomarkers for active monitoring in marine coastal ecosystems. However, at this moment, GPx activity is not robust enough to be applicable to harbour areas.
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Science of The Total Environment, 2008
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Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2006
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Marine Environmental Research, 2014
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Aquaculture
This study evaluates the risk posed by selected organic pollutants on the culture of the marine m... more This study evaluates the risk posed by selected organic pollutants on the culture of the marine mussel in the Galician coast (NW Iberian Peninsula), which depends on collection of natural seed in densely populated coastal areas. With this aim toxicity tests were carried out with embryos of the Mytilus galloprovincialis mussel, and the toxicity of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and the biocides TBT, chlorpyrifos and lindane was quantified in terms of median effective concentration (EC50) and toxicity threshold (EC10 and LOEC), using embryogenesis success as end point. The EC10 and EC50 values were 161 and 377 ng/L for TBT, 79 and 154 µg/L for chlorpyrifos, 495 and 2353 µg/L for SDS, 1.41 and 1.99 mg/L for lindane. Toxicity thresholds for mussel embryos from this study and crustacean larvae from the literature were compared to environmental concentrations in coastal waters, either directly measured or estimated from mussel bioaccumulation data, in an attempt to evaluate ...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Marine Pollution Bulletin
The toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined using mussel, sea-urchin a... more The toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined using mussel, sea-urchin and ascidian embryo-larval bioassays. Fluorescent light exposure enhanced phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene and hydroxypyrene toxicity in comparison with dark conditions, but not naphthalene and fluorene toxicity. The toxicity of PAHs was inversely related to their K(OW) values following QSAR models derived for baseline toxicity of general narcotics, whereas the obtained regression using toxicity data from photoactivated PAHs significantly departed from the general narcosis model. Also, the mixture toxicity of five PAHs to the larval growth of the sea-urchin was compared with predictions derived from the concentration addition concept, indicating less than additive effects. Finally, we compared our toxicity data with worst-case environmental concentrations in order to provide a preliminary estimate of the risk to the marine environment. Naphthalene, fluorene and pyrene are not considered...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Science of The Total Environment
Acute toxicity and phototoxicity of heavy fuel oil extracted directly from the sunken tanker Pres... more Acute toxicity and phototoxicity of heavy fuel oil extracted directly from the sunken tanker Prestige in comparison to a standard Marine fuel oil were evaluated by obtaining the water-accommodated fraction (WAF) and using mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus embryogenesis bioassays, and copepod Acartia tonsa and fish Cyprinodon variegatus survival bioassays. Aromatic hydrocarbon (AH) levels in WAF were measured by gas chromatography. Prestige WAF was not phototoxic, its median effective concentrations (EC50) were 13% and 10% WAF for mussel and sea urchin respectively, and maximum lethal threshold concentrations (MLTC) were 12% and 50% for copepod and fish respectively. Marine WAF resulted phototoxic for mussel bioassay. EC50s of Marine WAF were 50% for sea urchin in both treatments and 20% for mussel under illumination. Undiluted Marine WAF only caused a 20% decrease in mussel normal larvae. Similar sensitivities were found among sea urchins, mussels...
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Water Air and Soil Pollution
An assessment of the environmental quality of sediments at several locations of the Ría de Pontev... more An assessment of the environmental quality of sediments at several locations of the Ría de Pontevedra (NW of Spain) was performed by integrating toxicity data obtained from multiespecies bioassays, chemical data from analysis of mussels and sediment, and physical–chemical parameters of the sampled sites. Subsequently, a toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) method intended for characterization and identification of the toxic agents was applied to the most polluted location by using the Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin bioassay. Both metals and organic compounds seem to be the causative agents of toxicity in elutriates of the studied sediment. Finally, multivariate statistics were applied for a better interpretation of results. A factor analysis was developed to establish the relationship among variables and to derive local sediment quality guidelines (SQG) by linking chemical contamination to biological effects. When multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis were performed to...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Chemosphere
In the present work, we investigated the potential use of several antioxidant enzymes in wild mus... more In the present work, we investigated the potential use of several antioxidant enzymes in wild mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) as biomarkers of marine pollution. The enzymatic activity levels of glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) were measured in gills and digestive gland. Those enzymes participate in the cellular defense system that is involved in the adaptive response of organisms to chemical pollution. Adult mussels were collected at five sampling sites located at the Ría de Pontevedra and Ría de Vigo. Seasonal variations in the control site were observed for the CAT activity, but no significant variability was found for GST and GPx. Mussels from the most polluted sites exhibited a significantly greater GST activity compared to the control site (p<0.05) during the sampling period, whereas GPx and CAT activities have not such a marked pattern. Trace metals, PAHs, PCBs and DDT contents in mussels at sampling sites showed highly si...
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Continental Shelf Research
Elutriate embryo-larval bioassays with sea-urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) were conducted concurr... more Elutriate embryo-larval bioassays with sea-urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) were conducted concurrently with chemical analyses of sediments and biota as part of an integrative assessment of pollution in highly productive coastal regions. High metal contents and organic compounds in sediments and mussels were found in localised areas from the inner part of the estuaries indicating a clear anthropogenic influence. In particular, average maximum concentrations of 2803 mg Cu/kg dw, 776 mg Pb/kg dw, 2.5 mg Hg/kg dw and 5803 μg ∑7PAHs/kg dw were measured in sediments from the most polluted sites. Significant correlations were observed between sediment chemistry and toxicity bioassays. Moreover, the Mantel test revealed a significant correlation (rM=0.80; p<0.01) between sediment pollutant concentrations and toxicity data profiles. In addition, sediment quality criteria were used to help in the ecological interpretation of sediment chemistry data and to identify pollutants of concern. Th...
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Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology - Part A Molecular & Integrative Physiology
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Chemosphere
Elutriate embryo-larval bioassays with sea-urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) and ascidians (Ciona i... more Elutriate embryo-larval bioassays with sea-urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) and ascidians (Ciona intestinalis) were conducted concurrently with trace metal analyses as part of an integrative assessment of sediment pollution at Ría de Pontevedra (Galicia, NW Spain). High metal contents in sediments were found in localised areas from the inner part of the estuary indicating a clear anthropogenic influence. In particular, very high Cu, Zn and Pb levels were found at sites P2 and P3, which were also the most toxic to the embryo-larval bioassays. Sediment quality guidelines were used to help in the ecological interpretation of sediment chemistry data and to identify pollutants of concern. Cu and Zn in P3 were consistently above the effects range median (ERM) values, which seem to be good predictors of toxicity to sea-urchin and ascidian embryos. A toxic unit approach, based on published EC(50) values and metal levels in elutriates, was used to assess the harmful ecological effects associa...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2006
Copper speciation in the presence of fulvic acids (FAs) was studied in chemically defined seawate... more Copper speciation in the presence of fulvic acids (FAs) was studied in chemically defined seawater by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SQWASV). A simple complexation model assuming a single type of ligand and a 1:1 reaction stoichiometry successfully explained the measured data. A conditional stability constant of 5.80 6 0.07 and a complexing capacity of 610 6 80 mmol Cu/g
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Environmental Pollution, 2015
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Ecological Indicators, 2015
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Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 2014
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Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 2009
ABSTRACT The current widespread use of benzalkonium chloride (BAC) in different cleaning and disi... more ABSTRACT The current widespread use of benzalkonium chloride (BAC) in different cleaning and disinfecting products led us to investigate its potential toxic effect on phytoplankton. To this aim, different physiological variables were monitored to detect toxicity of four ecologically relevant concentrations of BAC (15–200μg l−1) on batch cultures of the microalgae Isochrysis galbana and Chaetoceros gracilis, and on a coastal phytoplankton assemblage. Fluorescence variables measured by fast repetition rate fluorometry, specifically variable fluorescence (F v), were the most suitable to be used as endpoint among all the variables recorded (biomass, growth rate, size structure, and species composition). Calculated effective concentrations from F v data provided evidences of higher sensitivity in the natural assemblage at short exposure times (natural assemblage—EC50 [24h] = 36.4μg l−1 vs. monoalgae—EC50 [24h] > 120μg l−1). Despite these differences, standard monoalgal laboratory toxicity tests provided comparable estimates of safe concentrations for microalgae in the environment. Assessed EC10 fall within the range of BAC concentrations reported in the literature for different effluents.
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Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 2010
... F0, Fm, Fv and Fv/Fm, measured by means of fast repetition rate fluorometry, on detecting PAH... more ... F0, Fm, Fv and Fv/Fm, measured by means of fast repetition rate fluorometry, on detecting PAHstoxicity. Data obtained are used to select the most sensitive endpoint and to calculate the effective concen-trations for every PAH to this microalgae after a pulse contamination event ...
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Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 2006
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Science of The Total Environment, 2014
As part of an integrative monitoring campaign involving water and sediment chemistry, in situ bio... more As part of an integrative monitoring campaign involving water and sediment chemistry, in situ bioassays, and mussel bioaccumulation and biomarkers, Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels of standard size were transplanted from a clean location to five sites in two important harbours from the Atlantic coast of Spain (Vigo and Pasaia). After a 30-day field exposure, the concentrations of major contaminants (trace metals, polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) accumulated in mussel tissues were measured at each site, and a mussel bioaccumulation index (MBI) was calculated. The enzymatic activity levels of glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were quantified in the gills of transplanted mussels (n=12). Mussels from the most polluted sites consistently exhibited significantly higher GST and GPx activities compared to the control site, whereas AChE activity was significantly inhibited. The responses of the GST and GPx activities were related to MBI, trace metals and PAH concentrations in mussels, whereas AChE activity was related to the trace metals concentrations in mussels. The above results suggest that GST and AChE activities can be used as potential biomarkers for active monitoring in marine coastal ecosystems. However, at this moment, GPx activity is not robust enough to be applicable to harbour areas.
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Science of The Total Environment, 2008
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Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2006
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Marine Environmental Research, 2014
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