Research Article Open Access Volume 5 • Issue 6 • 1000325 J Environ Anal Toxicol ISSN: 2161-0525 JEAT, an open access journal Open Access Research Article Prioste et al., J Environ Anal Toxicol 2015, 5:6 DOI: 10.4172/2161-0525.1000325 *Corresponding author: Fabiola Eloisa Setim Prioste, Laboratory of Wild Animal Comparative Pathology (Laboratório de Patologia Comparada de Animais Selvagens – LAPCOM), School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics of the University of São Paulo (Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo – FMVZ-USP), Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, 05508-270, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, Tel: 55-11- 99251-8041; Fax: 55-11-3091-7689; E-mail: fabiolaprioste@gmail.com Received July 09, 2015; Accepted October 16, 2015; Published October 14, 2015 Citation: Prioste FES, Souza VCO, Queiroz MR, Chiacchio RGD, Barbosa F, et al. (2015) Chemical Element Concentrations in the Blood of Green Turtles (Chelonia Mydas) Captured at Fernando De Noronha Marine National Park, Brazil. J Environ Anal Toxicol 5: 325. doi:10.4172/2161-0525.1000325 Copyright: © 2015 Prioste FES, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Chemical Element Concentrations in the Blood of Green Turtles (Chelonia Mydas) Captured at Fernando De Noronha Marine National Park, Brazil Fabiola Eloisa Setim Prioste 1* , Vanessa Cristina de Oliveira Souza 3 , Mariana Ramos Queiroz 2 , Rosely Gioia-Di Chiacchio 1 , Fernando Barbosa Jr 3 and Eliana Reiko Matushima 1 1 Laboratory of Wild Animal Comparative Pathology (Laboratório de Patologia Comparada de Animais Selvagens – LAPCOM), School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics of the University of São Paulo (Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo – FMVZ-USP), Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brazil 2 Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (Laboratório de Epidemiologia and Bioestatística – LEB), School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics of the University of São Paulo (Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo – FMVZ-USP), Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, Brazil 3 Department of Clinical, Toxicological and Bromatological Analysis (Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Toxicológicas and Bromatológicas), Ribeirão Preto School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto – FCFRP – USP), Avenida do Café, s/n, Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil Keywords: Biomonitors; Marine enviroments; Pollution; Elemental analysis; Mass spectometry; Sea turtles Introduction Chelonia mydas is a sea turtle with a worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical seas between 40°N and 40°S latitude. Tis species has the most coastal habit of sea turtles and is capable of entering river and lake estuaries [1]. In these neritic zones (waters close to the shore), green turtles primarily feed on seagrasses and algae [2]. In addition, their feeding habit varies from omnivorous during the frst years of life [3] to herbivorous following the post-pelagic phase [4]. Tis species is considered threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and vulnerable by the List of Endangered Species of the Chico Mendes Biodiversity Institute (Instituto Chico Mendes de Biodiversidade - ICMBio). Te decrease in green turtle populations has been attributed to coastal development, accidental capture in fshing gear, human consumption, climate changes, pollution and pathogens [5]. A number of studies conducted on sea turtles in diferent parts of the world have focused on the detection and measurement of toxic metals and essential elements [6-13], which likely play relevant roles in the decrease of sea turtle populations [14]. Despite the importance of the Brazilian coast for the development of fve of the seven sea turtle species, the only study to detect chemical elements in turtles in Brazil was published in 2009 by Barbieri. Certain chemical elements are essential to life; however, many chemicals can be metabolized or bioaccumulated and become toxic for organisms. Vertebrates exposed to high concentrations of certain chemical elements or small concentrations for long periods of time may exhibit neurological, reproductive, gastrointestinal, respiratory, hepatic, immunological, renal or dermatological symptoms [15]. Te objective of this study was to measure the concentrations of the essential elements Calcium (Ca), Selenium (Se), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu) and Molybdenum (Mo) and the metals Aluminum (Al), Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Lithium (Li), Cesium (Cs), Barium (Ba), Rubidium (Rb), Uranium (U), Tallium (Tl), Beryllium (Be), Antimony (Sb) and Tellurium (Te) in the blood of 31 juvenile green turtles captured in Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park (Parque Nacional Marinho de Fernando de Noronha), Brazil, and to correlate these concentrations with the curved carapace length to identify possible cumulative efects. Abstract Green turtles may be used as biomonitors of marine environments because of their longevity and feeding habits (omnivorous during the frst years of life and herbivorous during the juvenile and adult stages), which can indicate the degree of ocean contamination in the areas where they feed. Studies of metal and chemical element concentrations in the blood of green turtles are still rare; therefore, the results are diffcult to interpret, although it appears that the serum levels of certain elements found in green turtles are much higher than the minimal risk levels indicated for human health. The objective of this study was to measure the concentrations of the essential elements Calcium (Ca), Selenium (Se), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), Cobalt (Co), Copper (Cu) and Molybdenum (Mo) and the metals Aluminum (Al), Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Lithium (Li), Cesium (Cs), Barium (Ba), Rubidium (Rb), Uranium (U), Thallium (Tl), Beryllium (Be), Antimony (Sb) and Tellurium (Te) in the blood of 31 juvenile green turtles captured in Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park (Parque Nacional Marinho de Fernando de Noronha), Brazil, and to correlate these concentrations with the curved carapace length to identify possible cumulative effects. Furthermore, because the basal levels for these elements have not yet been established for green turtles, the effects of these chemicals on the health of the species are still unknown. Thus, most of these contaminants should be described as "alarming" until further clarifcation. Journal of Environmental & Analytical Toxicology J o u r n a l o f E n v i r o n m e n t a l & A n a l y t i c a l T o x i c o l o g y ISSN: 2161-0525