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ABSTRACT: The comparative kinetics of the accumulation of the trace metals copper, zinc and cadmium have been measured in the estuarine
burrowing polychaete worm Nereis (Hediste) diversicolor from two sites: (a) a metal-rich site, Restronguet Creek, Cornwall, UK, which hosts a copper- and zinc-tolerant population
of worms, and (b) the Blackwater estuary, Essex, UK as a control site. A sediment transfer experiment showed that the Blackwater
worms responded to the increased copper bioavailability in Restronguet Creek sediment by accumulating significantly increasing
copper concentrations over 50days. The Restronguet Creek worms showed no significant change in copper concentration over
50days in sediment from either site or in sand. Nevertheless, electron microscopy showed that some Restronguet Creek worms
do appear to excrete accumulated copper, probably in association with renewal of the cuticle over a long time scale. The Blackwater
worms did not accumulate extra zinc from the zinc-rich Restronguet Creek sediment, in probable reflection of the regulation
of body zinc concentration by N. diversicolor. Radiolabelled zinc and cadmium were accumulated from labelled sediment and labelled solution by worms from both sites. The
rate of uptake of labelled zinc from sediment was significantly greater in the Restronguet Creek worms, as was the rate of
uptake of labelled cadmium from 10μgl−1 dissolved exposure; other rates of uptake did not differ between populations. Mucus, which is secreted by Restronguet Creek
worms in response to enhanced copper exposure, adsorbed very small proportions of zinc and cadmium present in solution, indicating
that the mucus does not act as an adsorption barrier against excessive metal uptake by these worms.
Marine Biology 04/2012; 147(6):1291-1304. · 2.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The accumulation, subcellular distribution and speciation of arsenic in the polychaete Arenicola marina were investigated under different laboratory exposure conditions representing a range of metal bioavailabilities, to gain an insight into the physiological mechanisms of how A. marina handles bioaccumulated arsenic and to improve our understanding of the potential ecotoxicological significance of bioaccumulated arsenic in this deposit-feeder. The exposure conditions included exposure to sublethal concentrations of dissolved arsenate, exposure to sublethal concentrations of sediment-bound metal mining mixtures, and exposure to lethal concentrations of sediment-bound metal mining mixtures and arsenic- and multiple metal-spiked sediments. The sub-lethal exposures indicate that arsenic bioaccumulated by the deposit-feeding polychaete A. marina is stored in the cytosol as heat stable proteins (~50%) including metallothioneins, possibly as As (III)-thiol complexes. The remaining arsenic is mainly accumulated in the fraction containing cellular debris (~20%), with decreasing proportions accumulated in the metal-rich granules, organelles and heat-sensitive proteins fractions. A biological detoxified metal compartment including heat stable proteins and the fraction containing metal-rich granules is capable of binding arsenic coming into the cells at a constant rate under sublethal arsenic bioavailabilities. The remaining arsenic entering the cell is bound loosely into the cellular debris fraction, which can be subsequently released and diverted to an expanding detoxified pool. Our results suggest that a metal sensitive compartment comprising the cellular debris, enzymes and organelles fractions may be more representative of the toxic effects observed.
Ecotoxicology 11/2011; 21(2):576-90. · 2.36 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Many estuaries of southwest England were heavily contaminated with toxic metals associated with the mining of copper and other metals, particularly between 1850 and 1900. The question remains whether the passage of time has brought remediation to these estuaries. In 2003 and 2006 we revisited sites in 5 metal-contaminated estuaries sampled in the 1970s and 1980s - Restronguet Creek, Gannel, West Looe, East Looe and Tavy. We evaluate changes in metal contamination in sediments and in metal bioavailabilities in sediments and water to local organisms employed as biomonitors. We find that the decline in contamination in these estuaries is complex. Differences in bioavailable contamination in the water column were detectable, as were significant detectable changes in at least some estuaries in bioavailable metal contamination originating from sediments. However, in the 100 years since mining activities declined, bioavailable contamination has not declined to the regional baseline in any estuary affected by the mine wastes. The greatest decline in contamination occurred in the one instance (East Looe) where a previous industrial source of (Ag) contamination was considered. We used the macroalgae Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum as biomonitors of dissolved metal bioavailabilities and the deposit feeders Nereis diversicolor and Scrobicularia plana as biomonitors of bioavailable metal in sediments. We found no systematic decrease in the atypically high Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations in the estuarine sediments over a 26 year period. Accumulated metal (Ag, As, Cu, Pb, and Zn) concentrations in the deposit feeders are similarly still atypically high in at least one estuary for each metal, and there is no consistent evidence for general decreases in sediment metal bioavailabilities over time. We conclude that the legacy of mining in sheltered estuaries of southwest England is the ongoing presence of sediments rich in metals bioavailable to deposit feeders, while dissolved metal bioavailabilities from this historical source alone are no longer atypically high.
Science of The Total Environment 02/2011; 409(8):1589-602. · 3.29 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Arsenic bioaccumulation in the deposit-feeding polychaete Arenicola marina has been investigated using biodynamic modelling. Radiotracer techniques were used to determine the rates of uptake of As as arsenate from water and sediment and its subsequent efflux in the laboratory. Lugworms accumulated As from solution linearly at concentrations of 2-20 microg l(-1), with a corresponding uptake rate constant of 0.1648+/-0.0135 l g(-1)d(-1). 7.8+/-0.8% (assimilation efficiency) of the As ingested bound to sediments was retained after egestion of unassimilated metal. Elimination of As followed a two-compartment model, with mean efflux rate constants (from the slow pool) very similar for As accumulated from solution and ingested sediments (0.0449+/-0.0034 and 0.0478+/-0.0225 d(-1), respectively) and a corresponding biological half-time of roughly 15 d. A biodynamic model was constructed and validated through the comparison of biodynamic model predictions against measured bioaccumulated concentrations in lugworms from five UK estuaries. The model accurately predicted bioaccumulated As concentrations in lugworms using mean values of relevant physiological parameters (uptake rate, efflux rate and growth rate constants), a site-specific ingestion rate (calculated according to mean worm size and sediment organic matter content and expressed as the rate of ingestion of the mass of fine sediment), a site-specific sediment concentration measured after HCl extraction, and a standard dissolved As concentration. This combination of parameters showed that sediment ingestion contributed 30-60% of the total As accumulated by lugworms at the studied sites, depending on the different geochemistry at each site. This study showed that it is difficult to predict accurately As bioaccumulation at sites with different chemistries, unless that chemistry is taken into account.
Aquatic toxicology (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 01/2010; 98(1):34-43. · 3.12 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Biodynamic parameters of the ragworm Nereis diversicolor from southern Spain and south England were experimentally derived to assess the inter-population variability of physiological parameters of the bioaccumulation of Ag, Cd and Zn from water and sediment. Although there were some limited variations, these were not consistent with the local metal bioavailability nor with temperature changes. Incorporating the biodynamic parameters into a defined biodynamic model, confirmed that sediment is the predominant source of Cd and Zn accumulated by the worms, accounting in each case for 99% of the overall accumulated metals, whereas the contribution of dissolved Ag to the total accumulated by the worm increased from about 27 to about 53% with increasing dissolved Ag concentration. Standardised values of metal-specific parameters were chosen to generate a generalised model to be extended to N. diversicolor populations across a wide geographical range from western Europe to North Africa. According to the assumptions of this model, predicted steady state concentrations of Cd and Zn in N. diversicolor were overestimated, those of Ag underestimated, but still comparable to independent field measurements. We conclude that species-specific physiological metal bioaccumulation parameters are relatively constant over large geographical distances, and a single generalised biodynamic model does have potential to predict accumulated Ag, Cd and Zn concentrations in this polychaete from a single sediment metal concentration.
Marine environmental research 01/2010; 69(5):363-73. · 1.76 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Radiotracer techniques were used to determine the rates of trace metal (Ag, Cd and Zn) uptake and elimination (33 psu, 10 degrees C) from water and sediment by the deposit-feeding polychaete Arenicola marina, proposed as a test species for estuarine-marine sediments in whole-sediment toxicity tests. Metal uptake rates from solution increase with increasing dissolved metal concentrations, with uptake rate constants (+/-SE) (lg(-1) d(-1)) of 1.21+/-0.11 (Ag), 0.026+/-0.002 (Zn) and 0.012+/-0.001 (Cd). Assimilation efficiencies from ingested sediments were measured using a pulse-chase radiotracer feeding technique in two different lugworm populations, one from a commercial supplier (Blyth, Northumberland, UK) and the other a field-collected population from the outer Thames estuary (UK). Assimilation efficiencies ranged from 2 to 20% for Zn, 1 to 6% for Cd and 1 to 9% for Ag for the Northumberland worms, and from 3 to 22% for Zn, 6 to 70% for Cd and 2 to 15% for Ag in the case of the Thames population. Elimination of accumulated metals followed a two-compartment model, with similar efflux rate constants for Zn and Ag and lower rates of elimination of Cd from the slow pool. Efflux rate constants (+/-SE) of Zn and Ag accumulated from the dissolved phase were 0.037+/-0.002 and 0.033+/-0.006 d(-1) whereas Cd was eliminated with an efflux rate constant one order of magnitude lower (0.003+/-0.002 d(-1)). When metals were accumulated from ingested sediments, the efflux rate constants for the slow-exchanging compartment were of the same order of magnitude for the three metals, and of the same order of magnitude as those derived after the dissolved exposure for Zn and Ag (0.042+/-0.004 and 0.056+/-0.012 d(-1) for Zn and 0.044+/-0.012 and 0.069+/-0.016 d(-1) for Ag for the Northumberland and Thames populations, respectively). Cd accumulated from ingested sediments was eliminated with a rate constant not different from the fast-exchanging compartment after the water-only exposure (0.025+/-0.012 and 0.020+/-0.004 d(-1) for the Northumberland and Thames populations, respectively). A biodynamic model was used to estimate the relative importance of the dissolved phase versus ingested sediment as source of metal for the worms, showing that more than 90% of the Zn and Cd and more than 70% of Ag in lugworms is accumulated from sediment ingestion at realistic environmental concentrations. The model also shows that metal accumulation is highly dependent on the ingestion rate and assimilation efficiency.
Aquatic toxicology (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 01/2009; 92(1):9-17. · 3.12 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The amphipod crustacean Talitrus saltator is an established, easily accessible, biomonitor of trace metal bioavailabilities in coastal waters. We have carried out a geographically widespread collection of T. saltator from European shores, stretching from the north-west Atlantic through the Baltic to the Mediterranean. A primary aim of the work was to establish a database of accumulated trace metal concentrations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) in this biomonitor. Statistical analysis has shown significant geographical differences in the bioavailabilities of all the metals, the most distinct being copper, iron and manganese. It has proved possible to identify unusually high accumulated concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in this biomonitor, indicative of high metal bioavailability at a particular site. These may serve as reference points for future biomonitoring programmes seeking to identify metal contamination in coastal waters.
Marine Pollution Bulletin 11/2008; 58(1):39-44. · 2.50 Impact Factor
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Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 01/2006; 321:167-181.
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Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 01/2006; 308:91-100.
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ABSTRACT: The barnacle Balanus improvisus and the mussel Mytilus trossulus have been used as biomonitors of the trace metals Cu, Zn, Cd, Fe, Pb, Mn and Ni at five sublittoral sites in the Gulf of Gdansk (Baltic Sea) between February 2000 and September 2001. The study has established a benchmark against which future biomonitoring programmes will be able to establish changes in local metal pollution, particularly if metal loadings in the river Vistula (draining into the Gulf) alter in the future. The study highlighted differences in trace metal bioavailabilities to both barnacles and mussels, geographically and over time. Accumulated metal concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, Pb and Ni, but not Cd or Mn, were correlated in the barnacles and mussels, suggesting that the bioavailabilities of the former metals to the two biomonitors were similar. The barnacles showed greater discriminatory power than the mussels as trace metal biomonitors. Concentrations of trace metals in surficial sediments (<63m) did not correlate significantly with accumulated metal concentrations in either barnacles or mussels, indicating that sediment metal concentrations are not necessarily good proxy measures of ambient trace metal bioavailabilities to the local coastal filter feeders.
Marine Biology 01/2004; 144(2):271-286. · 2.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Bioaccumulation of cadmium, copper, and zinc was examined in common ragworms Hediste diversicolor from control (Bay of Somme, Blackwater) and metal-rich (Seine estuary, Boulogne harbor, Restronguet Creek) sites in France and the United Kingdom. The degree of exposure in the field was assessed by considering both total concentrations in superficial sediment and the quantities of metals which may be released in vitro at different pH levels. Among the three contaminated sites, release of the three metals was not detectable in Boulogne harbor, in correlation with limited enhancement of the metal concentrations in the common ragworms from this site. Even at those sites where zinc could be released in vitro from the sediment, zinc concentrations were not enhanced in common ragworms, in agreement with previous findings indicating that the body content of this metal is regulated in H. diversicolor. At all the studied sites, bioaccumulated zinc was mainly in cytosolic form. The distribution of cadmium and copper varied according to the origin of the common rag-worms, the insoluble fraction increasing with the degree of contamination (cadmium in the Restronguet Creek, copper in the Seine estuary, and even more in Restronguet Creek). In the cytosolic fraction, metals were partly linked to cytosolic heat-stable thiolic compounds (CHSTC) with molecular masses (5-6 kDa and about 12 kDa) consistent with metallothionein-like proteins (MTLP). Metal-binding to MTLP varied with the degree of contamination and with the metal studied. In contrast to many invertebrates, the presence of metal-binding CHSTC (MM about 2 kDa) other than MTLP seems to be a peculiar feature of H. diversicolor.
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 12/2003; 45(4):468-78. · 1.93 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Polychaete worms (Hediste diversicolor) originating from a strongly metal-contaminated area (Restronguet Creek) and a relatively clean site (Blackwater estuary) were exposed to a range of experimental doses of Ag, Cd, Cu and Zn. Specimens from both populations were compared to assess their relative sensitivity to metal stress and the physiological mechanisms involved in their respective adaptive strategies for coping with increased metal exposures. Taking into account the LC50 values, increased tolerance to Cd, Cu and Zn of the Restronguet Creek worms over that of the Blackwater was demonstrated, whereas the opposite was shown for Ag. An abundant secretion of mucus in response to toxicants was observed, possibly reducing metal availability for uptake, at least under laboratory conditions. This mechanism was particularly active in specimens from Restronguet Creek exposed to Ag and Cu. Unexpectedly, of the two worm populations, Blackwater worms contained significantly higher concentrations of cytosolic heat-stable compounds (CHSTC), a category of cytosolic components that includes metallothioneins, the detoxificatory role of which is well documented, and other compounds binding trace metals via sulphur bonds. However, the concentration of such compounds is not totally representative in itself of their involvement in metal detoxification, because a high rate of their turnover in metal-exposed worms might be responsible for (at least) the Cu storage associated with S in lysosomes as a consequence of the breakdown of Cu-thionein. Cu-containing lysosomes were abundant in epidermal cells of Restronguet Creek worms, but were lacking in Blackwater worms. Extracellular granules present in the epicuticle also contained S and Cu, their number and size being much more important in Restronguet Creek worms, and they appear to be a major detoxificatory store for accumulated Cu. Spherocrystals in cells of the gut wall seem to be the major detoxified store of Zn in Restronguet Creek worms, whereas in specimens from the Blackwater they were also present but contained only S and Ca at detectable levels. Evidence was also found for the presence of detoxificatory intracellular structures containing other metals and metalloids in the tegument and gut epithelium of Restronguet Creek worms.
Marine Biology 01/2003; 143(4):731-744. · 2.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae has been used as a biomonitor of trace metal contamination in two Brazilian coastal systems. C. rhizophorae were collected in January 1998 from 15 stations (from 4 coastal inlets (including 1 estuary) and 1 coastal beach) near Macau, Rio Grande do Norte (RN), Brazil, a region affected by the activities of the oil industry and salt manufacture in coastal salt ponds; oysters were also collected in September 1999 from 8 stations in the Curimatau estuary (RN), an estuary becoming increasingly affected by shrimp farming activities. C. rhizophorae is a net accumulator of trace metals and can be used as a biomonitor, the accumulated soft tissue concentrations representing integrated records of bioavailable metal over the life of the oyster. At Macau, significant differences in oyster accumulated concentrations (and hence bioavailabilities to the oyster) of Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn were found between stations; raised zinc availabilities at the coastal site are in close proximity to oil industry activities but the very high availabilities of Fe, Cu and Mn in the Rio dos Cavalos estuary originate from an unknown source. In the Curimatau estuary, bioavailabilities of Mn, Pb and Cd, but particularly of Cu and Zn, to the oysters are raised at the two most downstream sites, the only sites below the effluent of a large shrimp farming enterprise. The oysters also act as a local food source, and concentrations of Zn, Cu and Pb of some of the oysters are above typical public health recommended limits.
Hydrobiologia 01/2003; 501(1):199-206. · 1.78 Impact Factor
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Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 01/2003; 288(1):81-93. · 1.88 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The induction of metallothionein-like proteins (MTLP) as biomarkers of trace metal pollution has been investigated in the talitrid amphipod Orchestia gammarellus, an established biomonitor of trace metal availabilities in coastal areas. Sensitivity to metal exposure, MTLP and copper and zinc concentrations have been examined in amphipods from a metal-contaminated site (Dulas Bay, Wales) and two clean sites (Millport, Scotland and Bradwell, England). Groups of 10 amphipods from Dulas Bay and Millport were exposed separately to one of a concentration series (1, 3.16, 10, 31.6, 100 microM) of Cu or Zn for 17 days at 10 degrees C. Specimens from Bradwell were exposed under similar conditions but the experiment was extended to 25 days with intermediate samplings at 5, 10 and 17 days and additional groups were exposed to a mixture of Cu+Zn (7:10 molar ratio). In addition, specimens from Millport were exposed to 1 or 31.6 microM Cd for 17 days. Amphipods from Dulas Bay, which had been chronically exposed to metals in their natural environment had not acquired any tolerance to Cu and Zn since the lowest LC 50s were registered in these samples. Whatever the origin of the amphipods experimentally exposed to metals and whatever the dose of exposure, both Cu and Zn remained approximately equally distributed between cytosolic and insoluble fractions in the amphipods, suggesting that mechanisms of metal storage were identical over the whole range of conditions. Concentrations of MTLP were higher in O. gammarellus from Dulas Bay than in those from Millport analysed directly after collection, although laboratory exposures to dissolved Cd, Cu or Zn have failed to demonstrate differences in the induction of MTLP between amphipods from the clean or contaminated sites. A potential role for metallothionein-like proteins as biomarkers is thus unlikely although it remains plausible that turnover of these proteins does increase in response to increased metal challenges, enabling MTLP to play a role in metal detoxification.
Aquatic Toxicology 07/2002; 57(4):225-42. · 3.76 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae was collected in September 1997 from 10 stations along the Potengi estuary, Natal, Brazil, a mangrove-lined estuary receiving anthropogenic inputs of trace metals. C. rhizophorae is a net accumulator of trace metals and can be used as a biomonitor, the accumulated soft tissue concentrations representing integrated records of bioavailable metal fractions over the life of the oyster. Significant differences in oyster accumulated concentrations (and hence bioavailabilities) of Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, Ni and Ag (but not Mn) were found between stations, and attributed to anthropogenic inputs including discharges of sewage and industrial effluent. The oysters are also a local food source, and concentrations of zinc, copper and lead in some of the oysters are above typical public health recommended limits.
Water Research 01/2002; 35(17):4072-8. · 4.86 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The talitrid amphipod crustacean Orchestia gammarellus (Pallas) was collected from metal-contaminated (Dulas Bay, Gironde) and control (Millport) sites in the UK and France. Irrespective
of site of origin, the amphipods showed the same physiological mechanism of trace-metal detoxification, involving the ventral
caeca. Copper was always present in lysosomal residual bodies in the ventral caeca. Following laboratory exposure to zinc
and cadmium, the lysosomes usually contained both copper and zinc but cadmium was not detectable. The lysosomal copper concentration
is positively correlated to that of sulphur, while the concentration of lysosomal zinc is related to that of phosphorus. Results
are interpreted in terms of the differential rates of turnover of metallothioneins chelating copper, zinc or cadmium.
Marine Biology 03/2000; 136(3):477-484. · 2.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In a preliminary biomonitoring study, accumulated trace metal concentrations (Cu, Zn, Fe, Cd, Pb, Mn, Ni) have been measured in the mussel Mytilus trossulus and the barnacle Balanus improvisus collected in the Gulf of Gdansk, Poland in 1998. Mussels were collected from five sites in May 1998, and from one site in each of January and February 1998. Barnacles were collected simultaneously from four of the five sites in May 1998. Analysis of covariance has shown significant geographical and temporal differences in the local bioavailabilities of trace metals to mussels and barnacles, as reflected in the concentrations of accumulated trace metals. It is concluded that the mussel and barnacle are suitable biomonitors to employ in programmes designed to assess changes in metal pollution in the Gulf of Gdansk, one of the most metal polluted parts of the Baltic Sea, due to the outflow of the River Vistula.
Water Research. 01/2000; 34:1823-1829.
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ABSTRACT: Biodynamic parameters of the ragworm Nereis diversicolor from southern Spain and south England were experimentally derived to assess the inter-population variability of physiological parameters of the bioaccumulation of Ag, Cd and Zn from water and sediment. Although there were some limited variations, these were not consistent with the local metal bioavailability nor with temperature changes. Incorporating the biodynamic parameters into a defined biodynamic model, confirmed that sediment is the predominant source of Cd and Zn accumulated by the worms, accounting in each case for 99% of the overall accumulated metals, whereas the contribution of dissolved Ag to the total accumulated by the worm increased from about 27 to about 53% with increasing dissolved Ag concentration. Standardised values of metal-specific parameters were chosen to generate a generalised model to be extended to N. diversicolor populations across a wide geographical range from western Europe to North Africa. According to the assumptions of this model, predicted steady state concentrations of Cd and Zn in N. diversicolor were overestimated, those of Ag underestimated, but still comparable to independent field measurements. We conclude that species-specific physiological metal bioaccumulation parameters are relatively constant over large geographical distances, and a single generalised biodynamic model does have potential to predict accumulated Ag, Cd and Zn concentrations in this polychaete from a single sediment metal concentration.
Marine Environmental Research.
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ABSTRACT: This is the first in-depth investigation of whether the gender or reproductive state of talitrid amphipods affects the bioaccumulation of trace metals. Concentrations of copper, zinc, and cadmium were measured in the beach flea Transorchestia chiliensis (Milne-Edwards) and the sand hopper Talorchestia quoyana (Milne-Edwards) (Amphipoda: Talitridae) from sites in and near the Avon–Heathcote Estuary, Christchurch, New Zealand. For T. chiliensis, the whole body trace metals concentrations (μg g−1) were generally similar for nonbrooding, brooding, and brooding females that had the embryos removed. Where there were differences between female groups (3 out of 15 samples), concentrations in nonbrooding females were below those for brooding females. The trace metal concentrations of separated embryos did not follow those of their mothers. The body zinc concentration was similar for males and females. For copper and cadmium, body concentrations for females were higher than males at the two most contaminated sites. Cadmium body concentrations were similar between sites, and the lowest concentrations were from amphipods from one of the Estuary sites rather than the reference site. In T. quoyana, the trace metal concentrations in nonbrooding female and male sand hoppers were similar for copper and zinc, but cadmium concentrations were higher in nonbrooding females than in males. Copper and zinc concentrations within amphipod body tissues did not reflect those in the sediment or their food. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to previous studies and the use of beach fleas and sand hoppers as metal biomonitors. The beach flea T. chiliensis is recommended as a suitable trace metal biomonitor in New Zealand coastal waters with the potential to be affected by anthropogenic trace metal contamination.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.
