The study reports concentration of 16 PAHs in sediment, water, plankton and in muscle and liver of sampled fishes from Paranagua Bay in Southern Brazil. According to the range of PAHs concentration found in sediments (ΣPAHs 15.33-133.61 µg g) and water (ΣPAHs 51.20-162.37 µg L), the area was characterized as slightly polluted. In contrast, significant concentration of PAHs was found in fish and plankton, ranging from 26.52 to 2055.00 µg g and 175.41 to 2096.10 µg g, respectively. The concentrations were 15 times more than in sediments. Even though the concentration of PAHs in water and sediments are low, the concentration in fish tissues are alarmingly. The hypothesis of bioaccumulation is not discharged. Accumulation levels of PAHs in the biota were used to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) and bioaccumulation factor (BAF). For example, fish sampled from site 11 had a BAF of 49 and BSAF of 2.3, whereas for plankton the BAF was 16.3 and BSAF 0.7. Mean values of BAF and BSAF were higher in plankton samples. It is known that PAHs are enzymatically metabolized by organisms, thus the lower BSAF in fish might have resulted from biochemical transformation. Statistical analysis indicates no significant correlation between total PAHs concentration in fish tissues and total lipid content in fishes (p > 0.1).Accumulation in tissues is controlled by lipid content, although factors, such as spatial distribution of compounds, trophic level, and behavior of each species in the environment, must be considered. Besides, size and nutritional conditions can affect both absorption as well as metabolic process and excretion. A positive and significant correlation was found between total PAHs and trophic positions obtained from FishBase data (r = 0.784; p < 0.05). Thus, it seems that the area, with great influence of urban and industrial activities, and the bioaccumulation compounds, such as PAHs, depend on others factors, as well as resuspension of sediments and releasing of compounds for biota.

ABSTRACT. Forest fragmentation may negatively impact fauna and flora. An important tool for the development and implementation of research on these effects is the use of a geographic information system (GIS). This paper aims to perform an integrated analysis of the landscape fragments that compose the Alonzo River watershed, Paraná State, by using remote sensing tools and landscape ecology metrics. The analyzed landscape metrics were Patton's index, total area of the patches, edge length, edge density, forest fragment density, and the core area of the patches. The results showed 888 forest patches with area values ranging from 0.15 ha to 2509.82 ha, and it represents 12.5% of the total forest land cover of the studied basin; this means that 85.3% of the forest patches are less than 50 ha and that 75% of those fragments have a Patton's index value of less than 3.9. The fragments that compose the studied area may be subject to edge effects and biodiversity loss as long as they present reduced areas and small core areas. Thus, the use of GIS and landscape ecology metrics is a quick and efficient way to evaluate the effect of fragmentation over large areas.Keywords: conservation; connectivity; GIS. Dimensões espaciais de métricas da paisagem de remanescentes da Mata Atlântica no Estado do Paraná, Brasil RESUMO.A fragmentação florestal pode exercer influências negativas sobre a fauna e da flora. Uma importante ferramenta para o desenvolvimento e aplicação de trabalhos sobre efeito da fragmentação florestal é o uso de Sistema de Informação Geográfica (SIG). Esta pesquisa objetivou analisar fragmentos que compõem a bacia hidrográfica do rio Alonzo no Estado do Paraná, usando ferramentas de geoprocessamento e métricas em ecologia de paisagem. As métricas analisadas foram o índice de Patton, área total dos fragmentos, comprimentos de borda, densidade de borda, densidade dos fragmentos florestais e área de núcleo dos fragmentos. Os resultados mostraram 888 fragmentos florestais com valores de área variando de 0,15 ha até 2.509,82 ha, o que representa 12,5% da cobertura vegetal total da bacia estudada, da qual 85,3% dos fragmentos possuem área inferior a 50 ha, e 75% com o índice de Patton inferior a 3,9. Os fragmentos que compõem a área de estudo estão sujeitos à influência do efeito de borda e perda de biodiversidade, pois apresentam reduzidas áreas e, consequentemente, menor área de núcleo. Dessa forma, o uso de SIG e métricas de ecologia de paisagem é uma forma rápida e eficiente de avaliação do efeito da fragmentação em grandes áreas.

The elaboration of environmental sustainability indexes (ESI) aims to describe the complexity between social, environmental and ecological health. These indexes play a crucial role by helping stakeholders during the decision-making process and by identifying possible sites that require practical sustainable actions. In this study, we aim to elaborate an ESI for hydrographic basins. We use three factors to build the index: land use; vulnerability to soil degradation and topographic land attributes; and human development. The human development factor includes the dimensions of education, sanitation, longevity and income. These three factors are recommended by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and reflect the pressure–state–impact assessment model. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed ESI, we applied it in a hydrographic basin located in southern Brazil. The sustainability level variation in the basin was classified into five groups: very low (0%), low (17%), intermediate (72%), high (11%) and very high (0%). The predominance of the intermediate sustainability level was found to mainly owe to the extent of agricultural land and the high degree of susceptibility to soil erosion in areas with low environmental conservation. In areas with native vegetation, environmental sustainability was found to be higher than in areas with other land use types. The resulting ESI will help facilitate future studies in environmental, economic or social dimensions in any hydrographic basin.

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