Kepone distribution in selected tissues of blue crabs,Callinectes sapidus, collected from the James River and lower Chesapeake Bay

Abstract

Male, ovigerous female and nonovigerous female blue crabs were collected from seven stations in the lower Chesapeake Bay and lower James River, Virginia. The Kepone concentration in muscle, gonad and hepatopancreas was determined by GC analysis. All crabs from the lower Bay contained little Kepone, while many of those from the lower James River were contaminated. Male crabs contained more Kepone in the backfin muscle than females. Female crabs concentrated Kepone into the gonad, and, to a lesser extent, the hepatopancreas whereas the males did not. Ovigerous female crabs with spent ovaries, had less Kepone in the ovary than the corresponding egg masses. Further, ovigerous females, especially those with spent ovaries, had more Kepone in backfin muscle than nonovigerous females. It is concluded that the differences in Kepone partitioning among tissues of male and female crabs may explain the previously reported observation that males contain more Kepone in the backfin muscle than do females.