Ana Luzia Lacerda

• PhD Biological Oceanography
• Research Engineer at La Rochelle Université

Although marine plastic pollution has been the focus of several studies, there are still many gaps in our understanding of the concentrations, characteristics and impacts of plastics in the oceans. This study aimed to quantify and characterize plastic debris in oceanic surface waters of the Antarctic Peninsula. Sampling was done through surface tra...

Marine plastic pollution has a range of negative impacts for biota and the colonization of plastics in the marine environment by microorganisms may have significant ecological impacts. However, data on epiplastic organisms, particularly fungi, is still lacking for many ocean regions. To evaluate plastic associated fungi and their geographic distrib...

The lack of information about plastic pollution in many marine regions hinders firm actions to manage human activities and mitigate their impacts. This study conducted for the first time a quali-quantitative evaluation of floating plastics and their associated biota from coastal and oceanic waters in South Brazil. Plastics were collected using a ma...

Microfibers, whether synthetic or natural, have increased dramatically in the environment, becoming the most common type of particles in the ocean, and exposing aquatic organisms to multiple negative impacts. Using an approach combining morphology (scanning electron microscopy-SEM) and molecular taxonomy (High-Throughput DNA Sequencing- HTS), we in...

Plastics in the ocean create the “plastisphere”, a diverse habitat hosting various life forms. Other than the pollution induced by plastics, the co-occurrence of primary producers, symbiotic organisms, decomposers, and pathogens within the plastisphere raises questions about how they influence the dynamics of marine ecosystems. Here, we used a shot...

Tardigrades are remarkable microorganisms known for their extraordinary resilience in diverse environments, including extreme conditions such as outer space. They are known for their interactions with natural substrates in terrestrial and aquatic systems, but have remained largely unexplored in relation to marine plastics. This study aims to invest...

Here, we report the draft genome sequences of six marine strains isolated from plastic samples incubated in the Mediterranean Sea. Genomic analyses place these strains within the Alkalihalobacillus , Bacillus , Halomonas , and Marinobacter genera. Examining the genomes of these non-typical environmental bacteria increases our comprehension of micro...

Plastics are abundant artificial substrates in aquatic systems that host a wide variety of organisms (the plastisphere), including potential pathogens and invasive species. Plastisphere communities have many complex, but not well-understood ecological interactions. It is pivotal to investigate how these communities are influenced by the natural flu...

Plastics are artificial substrates in aquatic systems that can host a wide variety of organisms (plastisphere), with complex, yet not well understood, ecological interactions. Data on the diversity and ecological role of the plastisphere is still limited for many environments, including estuaries. Here we investigated the diversity of the plastisph...

The presentation shows the results of my master project, where we used microsatellite markers to evaluate the genetic diversity, population structure, connectivity and bottleneck events of the coastal fish Umbrina canosai. It is a Portuguese version.

Litter is an ecological, economic, and social problem that impacts marine environments around the world. To create prevention and mitigation measures to solve this issue, it is necessary to understand the amounts and sources of this type of pollution. Cassino Beach is an extensive sandy beach located in South Brazil (∼220 km in length) that present...

Rising concentrations of plastic in the oceans are leading to increasing negative interactions with marine biota, including ingestion by endangered and/or economically important seafood species such as fish. In this paper, we visually evaluated plastic debris ingestion by 965 specimens of eight commercially exploited fish species from different mar...

Plastics are the main type of litter in marine environments, but its fate and impacts are still being unraveled. Plastics at sea have both ocean and land-based sources, and although rivers and estuaries are great contributors of land-originated plastics, this kind of pollution is poorly documented in these environments. We investigated the abundanc...

Floating plastics in aquatic systems act as artificial substrates for a large taxonomic diversity of micro and macro-organisms. As plastics can last for many years in the oceans and be transported between regions, they have the potential to increase dispersal of these species; however, the diversity and ecological function of epiplastic communities...

Cigarette butts are the most common type of litter found in beaches worldwide: in the 2018 World Cleanup Day, Ocean Conservancy counted 5.7 million cigarette butts collected from beaches from 122 countries. Over 20 thousand of these butts were from the Brazilian coast, where they also represented the most abundant item. Cassino beach is an extensiv...

This study was developed by high school students and teachers on combining curric-ular theory and practice in the pedagogical teaching of science, as well as on practicing environmental education in a multidisciplinary way. Before starting sampling, professors and students were trained by an expert on this subject. Sampling were performed during se...

Marine turtle hybridization is usually sporadic and involves reports of only a few individuals; however, Brazilian populations have high hybridization rates. Here we investigated the presence of hybrids in morphologically identified immature hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata) along the South Western Atlantic (SWA). We sequenced one mitochondrial (...

Awareness of plastic pollution in the oceans is increasing. However, plastics in the ocean are not sterile and are quickly colonized by marine organisms. This artificial ecosystem allows the establishment of biofilms comprised of bacteria, viruses, fungi and algae and the colonisation of diverse groups of invertebrates. Plastics can be floating raf...

A transdisciplinary dialogue between artists and researchers of the Rio Grande Federal University in Brazil allowed the unification of art and science to provoke sensibilization towards a pressing environmental issue. A large itinerant structure was collectively built to artistically exhibit the marine debris problem, with a special focus on the “P...

Even though marine plastic pollution has been the focus of several studies, when considering the knowledge gaps for many regions of the oceans it is likely that current estimates of their concentrations and impacts are underestimated. Our study aimed to quantify and characterize plastic debris in oceanic surface waters of two regions, Brazil and An...

No dia 14 de novembro de 2017, Lucas Rodrigues apresentou nossos resultados preliminares que reporta, quantifica e caracteriza resíduos plásticos em águas superficiais da Península Antártica, além de identificar pioneiramente as principais espécies que compõem a ”plastisfera” desses resíduos.

Sea urchins play important roles in marine ecosystems as key herbivores and some species have wide geographic range. The Atlantic white sea urchin Tripneustes ventricosus is abundant in many rock reefs of the eastern and western Atlantic, and may be found in high densities in Atolls and Archipelagos. Despite the importance of sea urchins in insular...

Population connectivity in the blue crab Callinectes sapidus was evaluated along 740 km of the Western South Atlantic coast. Blue crabs are the most exploited portunid in Brazil. Despite their economic importance, few studies report their ecology or population structure. Here we sampled four estuarine areas in southern Brazil during winter 2013 and...