Cadmium Poisoning in Fundulus heteroclitus (Pisces: Cyprinodontidae) and other Marine Organisms

1971 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1225-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Eisler

In acute toxicity bioassays with [Formula: see text] at 20 C and 20‰ salinity, the concentrations fatal to 50% of the organisms of various marine species in 96 hr ranged between 0.32 and 55.0 mg/liter Cd2+. The order of sensitivity was: sand shrimp, Crangon septemspinosa (0.32); hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus (0.32); grass shrimp, Palaemonetes vulgaris (0.42); common starfish, Asterias forbesi (0.82); common soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria (2.2); green crab, Carcinus maenus (4.1); Atlantic oyster drill, Urosalpinx cinerea (6.6); eastern mud snail, Nassarius obsoletus (10.5); sandworm, Nereis virens (11.0); striped killifish, Fundulus majalis (21.0); blue mussel, Mytilus edulis (25.0); sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus (50.0); and mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus (55.0). Mummichogs were more susceptible to cadmium exposures at 20 C than at 5 C and at 5‰ salinity than at 15, 25, or 35‰. Additional studies with mummichogs clearly demonstrated that 96 hr was not sufficient to adequately evaluate cadmium toxicity to this species. Mummichog whole body cadmium residues determined by atomic absorption provided a useful index of cadmium body burden among fish surviving exposure. However, cadmium residue data from dead mummichogs were of limited worth owing to accumulation after death.

Author(s):  
D. F. Jefferies ◽  
C. J. Hewett

INTRODUCTIONThe caesium radionuclides, caesium-137 and caesium-134, are important constituents of aqueous radioactive effluents discharged to the environment of the United Kingdom from fuel re-processing plants and nuclear power stations (Howells, 1966; Mitchell, Harvey & Smith, 1968; Harvey, Baker & Mitchell, 1969). Their accumulation by marine fishes has been the subject of several previous studies, beginning with that of Chipman (1959) who noted that caesium-137 was accumulated in the flesh of the killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) and that accumulation continued even after a period of 72 days. Similarly, Hiyama & Shimizu (1964) showed that the muscle of the common goby (Acanthobus flaviamus) continued to accumulate caesium-134 from sea water after periods of 30 days. Baptist & Price (1962) have examined the whole body uptake of caesium, by absorption from sea water, in two marine species, the flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) and the Atlantic croaker (Micropogon undulatus), and they also investigated the accumulation, tissue distribution and excretion of caesium-137 in the croaker, the little tuna (Euthynnus alleteratus) and the bluefish (Pomatomus saltatoux), following oral administration of single doses. These authors concluded that the heart, liver and spleen of the croaker absorbed caesium-137 from sea water at a faster rate than the muscle, and that orally administered caesium-137 was rapidly absorbed from the digestive tract. Tissue distributions were similar in the croaker, bluefish and tuna. The retention of caesium-137 in croaker tissue was described as a multiple rate process. In later experiments Hiyama & Shimizu (1969) compared turnover rates in various organs and tissues following uptake from sea water and from single injection experiments, and obtained good agreement between the values from the two methods.


2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. R176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda E Nelson ◽  
Robert F DeVellis ◽  
Jordan B Renner ◽  
Todd A Schwartz ◽  
Philip G Conaghan ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1931) ◽  
pp. 20200970
Author(s):  
Frank Melzner ◽  
Björn Buchholz ◽  
Fabian Wolf ◽  
Ulrike Panknin ◽  
Marlene Wall

Ocean warming impacts the fitness of marine ectothermic species, leading to poleward range shifts, re-shuffling of communities, and changes in ecosystem services. While the detrimental effects of summer heat waves have been widely studied, little is known about the impacts of winter warming on marine species in temperate regions. Many species benefit from low winter temperature-induced reductions in metabolism, as these permit conservation of energy reserves that are needed to support reproduction in spring. Here, we used a unique outdoor mesocosm system to expose a coastal predator–prey system, the sea star Asterias and the blue mussel Mytilus , to different winter warming scenarios under near-natural conditions. We found that the body condition of mussels decreased in a linear fashion with increasing temperature. Sea star growth also decreased with increasing temperature, which was a function of unaltered predation rates and decreased mussel body condition. Asterias relative digestive gland mass strongly declined over the studied temperature interval ( ca twofold). This could have severe implications for reproductive capacity in the following spring, as digestive glands provide reserve compounds to maturing gonads. Thus, both predator and prey suffered from a mismatch of energy acquisition versus consumption in warmer winter scenarios, with pronounced consequences for food web energy transfer in future oceans.


2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Lombardo ◽  
Elisabetta Giorgini ◽  
Giorgia Gioacchini ◽  
Francesca Maradonna ◽  
Paolo Ferraris ◽  
...  

This study aimed to investigate the effects of two different doses (100 nM (M1) and 1 µM (M2)) of exogenous melatonin on the reproductive capacity of Fundulus heteroclitus. Eight days of melatonin exposure significantly increased the fecundity and embryo survival of F. heteroclitus only in the M2 group compared with the control; the hatching rate was unaffected. Moreover, increases in the local expression of the melatonin receptor (mtnr) gene during follicle maturation were found; however, there were no differences between the experimental groups. Furthermore, in vitro melatonin-treated follicles showed a significantly higher germinal vesicle break down percentage compared with the control, while SDS–PAGE showed no difference in the electrophoretic pattern of the major yolk proteins. Nevertheless, densitometry revealed a greater intensity of the 118-, 95- and 40-kDa components in groups treated with melatonin. Finally, Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy was applied to classify the different stages of oocyte development (Stages I–II, III and IV) on the basis of their macromolecular composition. The effects induced by melatonin on oogenesis were investigated by comparing vibrational spectra of females exposed to melatonin with those of controls. Changes to the Amide I band, corresponding to an increase in β-structure, were found in oocytes of females exposed to the highest melatonin dose. These results highlight the positive role of melatonin, which is able to enhance the reproductive capacity of F. heteroclitus. Further studies are in progress to better explain the molecular mechanisms by which melatonin treatment affects reproduction in this marine species.


1972 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 617-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. T. Strickland ◽  
W. M. Beckner ◽  
Mei-Ling Leu

1. Absorption of copper was determined by the simultaneous administration of 64Cu orally and 67Cu intravenously to six patients with Wilson's disease (WD), eighteen of their parents and siblings, four normal subjects and three subjects with cirrhosis of the liver. Absorption was calculated by three methods: (1) the mean ratio of 64Cu to 67Cu body retention at 3 and 4 days as determined by whole-body counting; (2) the mean ratio of 64Cu to 67Cu at 3 and 4 days as determined by faecal excretion; and (3) the mean ratio of 64Cu to 67Cu plasma radioactivity 6–24 h after administration. 2. The total-body counting and faecal methods for determining copper absorption agreed with each other, demonstrating that the normal absorption of copper is 40–70% (mean 56%) of the dose and that absorption is not influenced by cirrhosis of the liver, age or sex; but it appears to be inversely related to the amount of carrier copper. The absorption of copper in both homozygotes and heterozygotes for WD did not differ significantly from that of the control subjects. Therefore, the increased body burden of copper in WD does not appear to be due to over absorption, but rather to decreased biliary excretion of copper.


Crustaceana ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 88 (12-14) ◽  
pp. 1265-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigette A. Brinton ◽  
Mary Carla Curran

The bopyrid isopod Probopyrus pandalicola (Packard, 1879) is a large, noticeable, hematophagous ectoparasite of palaemonid shrimps, including the daggerblade grass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio Holthuis, 1949. Bopyrids affect grass shrimp physiology and may also affect predator-prey dynamics. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the isopod affected the behavior and/or camouflage of grass shrimp, thereby altering the predation preferences of the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus (Linnaeus, 1766). To determine whether the isopod affected predator preference through behavioral and/or camouflage alterations, paired combinations of unparasitized, parasitized, and marked shrimp were presented to mummichogs. One branchiostegite of some of the unparasitized shrimp was marked with black paint to mimic the bopyrid parasite. Mummichog predation preference and shrimp behavior immediately prior to predation events were recorded. All shrimp behavior was classified as motionless, walking, swimming, or backward thrusting. Immediately prior to predation, parasitized shrimp swam more () and backward thrusted less () than unparasitized shrimp. Mummichogs exhibited a preference for the more active shrimp (80.7% of shrimp; ), and also for the less camouflaged (parasitized or marked) shrimp (81.5% of shrimp; ) if there was no difference in shrimp behavior. Parasitized shrimp were preferentially consumed (51/85 shrimp) when paired with unparasitized shrimp (), but not with marked shrimp (). A 30-min activity budget was created for each type of shrimp both in the presence and absence of predators; neither the parasite nor marking affected their behavior over 30 min (). The major finding of this study was that P. pandalicola affected the predation preferences of F. heteroclitus by altering the behavior and/or camouflage of the grass shrimp. Parasitization alters predator-prey dynamics by decreasing the camouflage and the frequency of backward-thrusting behavior by the host when it is threatened by predation, which thereby decreases the ability of shrimp to escape from predators.


Rangifer ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgitta Åhman

The whole body was collected from 6 reindeer that had been grazing contaminated pasture and from 6 reindeer that had been fed uncontaminated feed the last weeks before slaughter. The body was emptied from in-gesta and weighed. Samples were taken from skeletal muscle, kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, rumen wall, bone and blood. The total activity of 137Cs in the ingesta-free body and the acitivity concentration of l37Cs in the different tissues were determined. The highest acitivity concentrations of l37Cs were found in skeletal muscle and in kidneys. Activity concentrations in kidneys, heart, liver, lungs and rumen wall, relative to skeletal muscle, were lower in reindeer with decreasing radiocaesium levels, compared to reindeer with continuous intake of radiocaesium, indicating a more rapid elimination in these tissues than in muscle. The ratios between average activity concentration of 137Cs in whole body and acitivity concentration in muscle from the same animal, ranged from 0.51 to 0.62. A factor of 0.57 is suggested for calculating average body activity concentration of radiocaesium from known activity concentration in muscle.


2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (11) ◽  
pp. 3366-3373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelby Addison ◽  
R. Edward Coleman ◽  
Sheng Feng ◽  
Gary McDaniel ◽  
Virginia Byers Kraus

1983 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-317
Author(s):  
G. G. Berg ◽  
B. S. Smith

Neutron-activated mercuric oxide was administered by gavage to female BALB/c mice. Counts of 197Hg and 203Hg in the whole body, urine, and feces were followed for up to 36 days. Elimination of mercury fitted a 3-compartment model. Nonpregnant mice eliminated approximately 87.5% of the dose at a fast rate (t1-2 = 9 hours), 12% at an intermediate rate (t>1/2 = 2 days), and 0.5% at a slow rate (t1/2 = 15 days). Each half-time was approximately 7 times shorter than the corresponding half-time fitted to published data on rats. Mice were also faster than humans in eliminating the ingested mercury. Pregnancy slowed down the intermediate rate of elimination. The total administered dose was recovered from feces and urine in a 9:1 ratio. Organ weights and mercury burdens were measured after serial sacrifice. Peak concentrations were reached within two days, with highest levels in kidneys followed by placentae and livers. In brains, peak concentrations were delayed and low. Subsequent losses of mercury differed widely in rate constants, with fastest overall rates in the brain, intestine, and integument, followed in order by whole body, liver, and kidneys. Ten days after dosing, mercury concentration ratios of placenta to 17-day old fetus were 20:1; 11 days after dosing, and with less than 2% of body burden remaining, while body concentration ratios of mother to neonate were 4:1. The data indicated that mice eliminated mercuric salts faster than had been reported for rats or humans, and that rapid elimination coupled with a placental barrier shielded fetuses from equlibrating with the peak concentrations of mercury found in dams after a single dose.


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