Preliminary studies to assess the environmental quality of the Acaraú River in Ubatuba (São Paulo, Brazil) Caique Pacheco dos Santos, Judith Font Batalla

Abstract

With the increase in human pressure associated with different uses of land, the number of environmental degradations also increases. Aquatic environments close to urban centers are constantly in poor quality due to pollution. In the Municipality of Ubatuba-SP, the Acaraú River has very low quality, compromising the habitats and bathing conditions of the beach where it flows (Itaguá). In this study, four points of the river were evaluated, characterized according to the Rapid Habitat Diversity Assessment Protocol (PAR) and their diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates and some physical and chemical parameters were evaluated. According to the PAR, both points 1 and 2 had a total of 69, being classified as “natural stretches”, while points 3 and 4, with 49 points, were classified as “altered”. During the sampling period, it was not possible to find benthic organisms in the sections under study. Among the physical and chemical parameters evaluated, dissolved oxygen was the one that indicated the greatest degradation, recording levels below 5mg/L in 75% of the samples. Regarding the other parameters, the points proved to be within the permitted limits.