Vitoria Bay Pollution Study in the Frame of Tagubar Research Project - Preliminary Biosystemic Approach

Vitoria is the capital of the Esp­rito Santo State, located in the eastern part of Brazil. It is surrounded by the Canal da Passagem, the Vitoria Bay, and the Bay of Espirito Santo. Phytoplankton community of this estuarine system was analyzed at 16 uniformly distributed sampling points where phytoplankton, most abundant species, qualitative composition, numerically representative species, total phytoplankton density, specific diversity, quantitative composition, equitability, chlorophyll a, and pheophytin were determined. 96 taxa were identified while Species Diversity indices (Shannon-Weaver index) and Equitability index were calculated. Biological marker values indicate that there is no particular pollution condition able to alter the condition of any part of this water body. However, the Authors conclude that the Vitoria Bay and the Canal da Passagem are moderately polluted and some stressing agents are active in the central part of Vitoria Bay