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Tissue Accumulation and the Effects of Long-Term Dietary Copper Contamination on Osmoregulation in the Mudflat Fiddler Crab Minuca rapax (Crustacea, Ocypodidae)

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Abstract

We examined copper accumulation in the hemolymph, gills and hepatopancreas, and hemolymph osmolality, Na+ and Cl− concentrations, together with gill Na+/K+-ATPase and carbonic anhydrase activities, after dietary copper delivery (0, 100 or 500 Cu µg g−1) for 12 days in a fiddler crab, Minuca rapax. In contaminated crabs, copper concentration decreased in the hemolymph and hepatopancreas, but increased in the gills. Hemolymph osmolality and gill Na+/K+-ATPase activity increased while hemolymph [Na+] and [Cl−] and gill carbonic anhydrase activity decreased. Excretion likely accounts for the decreased hemolymph and hepatopancreas copper titers. Dietary copper clearly affected osmoregulatory ability and hemolymph Na+ and Cl− regulation in M. rapax. Gill copper accumulation decreased carbonic anhydrase activity, suggesting that dietary copper affects acid–base balance. Elevated gill Na+/K+-ATPase activity appears to compensate for the ion-regulatory disturbance. These effects of dietary copper illustrate likely impacts on semi-terrestrial species that feed on metal-contaminated sediments.

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Acknowledgements

This investigation was financed by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, 2011/22537-0 to JCM) from which MVC received doctoral scholarships (2011/08065-9 and 2013/10672-6). JCM received excellence in research scholarships from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 300662/2009-2, 303613/2017-3). MG is a Maytag Chair of Ichthyology. This study is part of a doctoral dissertation by MVC (Comparative Biology, FFCLRP/USP) and received support from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, 33002029031P8, finance code 001 to JCM and MVC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brasil

    M. V. Capparelli & J. C. McNamara

  2. Facultad de Ciencias de La Tierra Y Agua, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, km 7, vía a Muyuna, Tena, Napo, Ecuador

    M. V. Capparelli

  3. Centro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de São Paulo, São Sebastião, SP, 11600-000, Brasil

    J. C. McNamara

  4. Marine Biology and Fisheries, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    M. G. Grosell

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  1. M. V. Capparelli
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  3. M. G. Grosell
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Capparelli, M.V., McNamara, J.C. & Grosell, M.G. Tissue Accumulation and the Effects of Long-Term Dietary Copper Contamination on Osmoregulation in the Mudflat Fiddler Crab Minuca rapax (Crustacea, Ocypodidae). Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 104, 755–762 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02872-3

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