Análise do potencial das aranhas como bioindicadores de contaminação por metais pesados

Abstract

Organisms exposed to heavy metals can accumulate them and present strategies of tolerance and adaptability, exhibiting responses at various levels of biological organization. This study aimed to analyze the potential of spiders as bioindicators of contamination by heavy metals. The methodology used consisted of an exploratory bibliographic research. To do so, searches in the available literature directed to publications of the last 10 years on the subject were carried out. Spiders have biological and ecological particularities that determine good bioindicator capacity for heavy metals, accumulating these contaminants, with responses from the sublethal to the ecosystemic levels. However, further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which spiders respond to heavy metals, notably at the molecular level.