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Assimilation of Elements and Digestion in Grass Shrimp Pre-Exposed to Dietary Mercury

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Abstract

Grass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio were fed mercury (Hg)-contaminated oligochaetes for 15 days and analyzed for Hg, cadmium (Cd), and carbon assimilation efficiencies (AE) as well as toxicological end points related to digestion. Disproportionate increases in stable Hg concentrations in shrimp did not appear to be related to partitioning to trophically available Hg in worms. Hg AE by pre-exposed shrimp reached a plateau (approximately 53 %), whereas Cd AE varied (approximately 40–60 %) in a manner that was not dose-dependent. Carbon AE did not differ among treatments (approximately 69 %). Gut residence time was not impacted significantly by Hg pre-exposure (grand median approximately 465 min), however, there was a trend between curves showing percentages of individuals with markers in feces over time versus treatment. Feces-elimination rate did not vary with dietary pre-exposure. Extracellular protease activity varied approximately1.9-fold but did not exhibit dose-dependency. pH increased over the range of Hg pre-exposures within the anterior (pH approximately 5.33–6.51) and posterior (pH approximately 5.29–6.25) regions of the cardiac proventriculus and Hg assimilation exhibited a negative relationship to hydrogen ion concentrations. The results of this study indicate that previous Hg ingestion can elicit post-assimilatory impacts on grass shrimp digestive physiology, which may, in turn, influence Hg assimilation during subsequent digestive cycles.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by PSC-CUNY Research Awards No. 68145-00 37 and No. 62888-00 40 to W. G. W. and CUNY Collaborative Incentive Research Grant No. 80209-01 14 to G. M. S. and W. G. W. Funding for the confocal microscope was provided by National Science Foundation Grant No. DBI 0421046 to W. J. L. Shrimp were collected from Great Kills Harbor under a permit from the Division of Natural Resources, National Park Service. Tuckerton, NJ, seawater was provided by the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University. Access to radiation facilities and near-infrared imaging equipment was provided by the Department of Biology, College of Staten Island, City University of New York. The authors thank G. R. Lopez, J. S. Weis, and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on previous versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, College of Staten Island, City University of New York, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA

    David R. Seebaugh, William G. Wallace & William J. L’Amoreaux

  2. Advanced Imaging Facility, College of Staten Island, City University of New York, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA

    William J. L’Amoreaux

  3. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Queens College, City University of New York, 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, New York, NY, 11367, USA

    Gillian M. Stewart

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  1. David R. Seebaugh
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Correspondence to David R. Seebaugh.

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Seebaugh, D.R., Wallace, W.G., L’Amoreaux, W.J. et al. Assimilation of Elements and Digestion in Grass Shrimp Pre-Exposed to Dietary Mercury. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 63, 230–240 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-012-9760-9

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