Brazilian Journal of Enviromnent
Open Access Journal
CiteScore
0.5
Indexada na
SCOPUS
QUALIS
B2
2021-2024
quadriênio
Open Access Journal
0.5
Indexada na
SCOPUS
B2
2021-2024
quadriênio
Planejamento e Meio Ambiente | Vol. 14 Issue 2 (2026)
Doutor em Ecologia Aplicada, Instituto Federal do Maranhão, Brasil.
Graduada em Licenciatura em Ciências Agrárias, Instituto Federal do Maranhão, Brasil
Mestrando em Produção Animal, Instituto Federal do Maranhão, Brasil.
Doutoranda em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, Brasil.
Mestrando em Produção Animal, Instituto Federal do Maranhão, Brasil.
Mestranda em Produção Animal, Instituto Federal do Maranhão, Brasil.
Mestranda em Produção Animal, Instituto Federal do Maranhão, Brasil.
Mestranda em Produção Animal, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, Brasil.
Mestranda em Produção Animal, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, Brasil.
Doutora em Recursos Pesqueiros e Aquicultura, Instituto Federal do Maranhão, Brasil.
Published in August 01, 2026
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https://10.66205/rvbma.v14i2.2146
Microplastic pollution represents a growing threat to aquatic ecosystems, especially in coastal and estuarine environments subject to intense anthropogenic pressure. In this context, the present study investigated the occurrence and characterization of microplastics in the commercial bivalve mollusk Anomalocardia flexuosa (sarnambi), also evaluating the species' potential as a bioindicator of microplastic pollution in an estuary on the Amazonian coast of Maranhão, Brazil. Fifty-eight individuals collected during two distinct seasonal periods (dry and rainy seasons) in the Igarapé das Ostras estuary, municipality of Raposa, Upaon-Açu Island, were analyzed. Soft tissues were subjected to chemical digestion with 10% KOH, followed by filtration and identification of particles under stereoscopic microscopy. Microplastics were detected in 94.8% of the analyzed samples, with an average abundance of 2.69 ± 2.15 MPs g⁻¹. Although seasonal variations were observed, there was no statistically significant difference between the periods evaluated. Morphological analysis revealed a predominance of filaments (91%), followed by fragments (7%) and films (2%), while blue and black were the most frequent colors. These results suggest a strong influence of anthropogenic sources, such as domestic effluents, degradation of textile materials, and fishing activities. The estimated human intake from the consumption of A. flexuosa was approximately 176 particles per meal. The results indicate that A. flexuosa has high potential as a bioindicator of microplastic contamination in tropical estuarine ecosystems, and also show that the consumption of this resource may represent a potential route of human exposure to microplastics.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Caio Brito Lourenço, Milena Corrêa Nogueira, José de Ribamar Lemos dos Santos, Suellen Pinheiro Ribeiro, Gilcimarques de Matos Ribeiro, Ana Melissa de Moraes Câmara, Yasmim Cristinne Oliveira Fonseca, Beatriz Batista Muniz, Maria Tereza Cantanhede Marques, Izabel Cristina da Silva Almeida Funo
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9107-9054
