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Metals and Metallothioneins in Morelet’s Crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) from a Transboundary River Between Mexico and Belize

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine concentrations of heavy metals (cadmium [Cd] and mercury [Hg]) and metallothioneins (MTs) in blood plasma and caudal scutes of Morelet’s crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) from Rio Hondo, a river and natural border between Mexico and Belize. Three transects of the river (approximately 20 km each) were surveyed in September 2012 and April 2013, and samples were collected from 24 crocodiles from these areas. In blood plasma, Cd (7.6 ± 9.6 ng/ml) was detected in 69 % of samples (n = 9); Hg (12.2 ± 9.2 ng/ml) was detected in 46 % of samples (n = 6); and MTs (10,900 ± 9,400 ng/ml) were detected in 92 % of samples (n = 12). In caudal scutes samples, Cd (31.7 ± 39.4 ng/g) was detected in 84 % of samples (n = 12) and Hg (374.1 ± 429.4 ng/g) in 83 % of samples (n = 20). No MTs were detected in caudal scutes. Hg concentrations in scutes from the Rio Hondo were 2- to 5-fold greater than those previously reported in scutes from other localities in northern Belize. In blood plasma, a significant positive relationship between Hg and body size was observed. Mean concentrations of Cd and MTs in size classes suggest that MTs may be related to Cd exposure. This is the first report of MT presence in crocodile blood.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, and Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (Project “Monitoreo del cocodrilo de pantano (Crocodylus moreletii) MéxicoBelice-Guatemala”). We thank Fernando Gonzalez Avila, Raymundo Mineros Ramírez, Roberto Herrera Pavón, and Irving Rosas López for field assistance and the family Rosas Carmona for providing support and accommodation during the surveys. We thank Adriana Zavala for assistance in laboratory analyses. We thank Thomas R. Rainwater and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on a previous version of the manuscript. Research permits for this study were issued by the Dirección General de Vida Silvestre of the Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (OFICIO NÚM/SGPA/DGVS/04288/12 and OFICIO NÚM/SGPA/DGVS/00911/13).

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  1. Environmental Biotechnology, Department of Sustainability Sciences, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Av. Centenario Km 5.5, 77014, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico

    A. M. Buenfil-Rojas & T. Álvarez-Legorreta

  2. Systematic, Ecology and Management of Aquatic Resources, Department of Aquatic Systematic and Ecology, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Av. Centenario Km 5.5, 77014, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico

    J. R. Cedeño-Vázquez

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  1. A. M. Buenfil-Rojas
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Buenfil-Rojas, A.M., Álvarez-Legorreta, T. & Cedeño-Vázquez, J.R. Metals and Metallothioneins in Morelet’s Crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) from a Transboundary River Between Mexico and Belize. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 68, 265–273 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-014-0088-5

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