Baseline metal and metalloid contamination in two marine sponge species, Hymeniacidon heliophila and Desmapsamma anchorata, from southeastern Brazil

Sponges are not routinely employed as metal bioindicators in Brazil. In this sense, this study reports baseline metal and metalloid concentrations, determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, for two Demospongiae sponge species, Hymeniacidon heliophila and Desmapsamma anchorata, sampled from two Southeastern Brazil areas. Sponges from Ilha Grande Bay, an Environmental Protection Area, exhibited higher Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, and Ni levels compared to Vermelha Beach, a metropolitan area in the Rio de Janeiro city. Several strong correlations were noted between elemental pairs, indicating common contamination sources and/or similar metabolic detoxification routes. Comparisons of the means determined herein for each study site to other reports indicate mostly lower Ag, As, Co, Cd, and Cu levels, while Al levels were higher than other studies, and Cr, Ni, and Fe were within reported ranges. These baseline data further knowledge on metal pollution in Desmspongiae members, which are still limited.