Cadmium bioconcentration in the echinoid Paracentrotus lividus: Influence of the cadmium concentration in seawater

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-1136(96)00093-1Get rights and content

Abstract

Uptake and loss kinetics of cadmium were studied in Paracentrotus lividus exposed for 24 d to different stable Cd concentrations (0 to 1.14 μg Cd l−1) and 109Cd tracer added to seawater. The whole-body uptake kinetics were linear over the time course of the experiment. The whole-body 109Cd concentration factor was independent of the stable Cd concentration in ambient seawater. Bioconcentration of Cd in whole individuals and their body compartments was directly proportional to the Cd concentration added to the seawater. The echinoid digestive tract wall showed the highest degree of Cd uptake. Whole-body loss kinetics were described by a 2-component exponential equation. The loss kinetics were similar for each of the treatments examined. Cadmium was found to display a long biological half-life in echinoid tissues; the major fraction (73 to 85%) of the Cd taken up by echinoids was eliminated following a loss component whose biological half-life was of the order of 1 year, regardless of the absolute Cd concentration accumulated by the echinoid. Paracentrotus lividus is suggested as a valuable biomonitor of Cd, particularly where knowledge of Cd concentration variations over long-term is of interest.

References (39)

  • J.M. Bouquegneau et al.

    The fate of stable pollutants — heavy metals and organochlorines — in marine organisms

  • J.M. Bouquegneau et al.

    Accumulation of technetium by four marine molluscs and transfer to a predatory fish

  • K.D. Bruland

    Trace elements in seawater

  • G.W. Bryan

    Pollution due to heavy metals and their compounds

  • P.A. Dinnel et al.

    A sea urchin test system for marine environmental monitoring

  • R. Eisler et al.

    Cadmium uptake by marine organisms

    J. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada

    (1972)
  • S.W. Fowler et al.

    Experimental studies on cadmium flux through marine biota

  • R. Fukai et al.

    Tripartite interlaboratory calibration of trace metal measurements on seawater — a summary report

    Thalassia Jugoslavica

    (1980)
  • P.J. Hayward et al.
  • Cited by (18)

    • Diet variably affects the trophic transfer of trace elements in the oyster Crassostrea gigas

      2020, Marine Environmental Research
      Citation Excerpt :

      The radioactivity was determined by comparison with standards of known activity and of appropriate geometry (Cresswell et al., 2017), and corrected for counting efficiency and physical radioactive decay. The counting time was adjusted to obtain a propagated counting error less than 5% (Warnau et al., 1996, 1997). Trophic transfer of trace elements to oysters was studied using protozoan and phytoplankton as diets.

    • Influence of food (ciliate and phytoplankton) on the trophic transfer of inorganic and methyl-mercury in the Pacific cupped oyster Crassostrea gigas

      2020, Environmental Pollution
      Citation Excerpt :

      The radioactivity was determined by comparison with standards of known activity and of appropriate geometry (Cresswell et al., 2017), and corrected for counting efficiency and physical radioactive decay. The counting time was adjusted to obtain a propagated counting error less than 5% (Warnau et al., 1996, 1997). Trophic transfer of iHg and MeHg in oysters was studied using protozoan and phytoplankton as diets.

    • Aberrant gene expression profiles in Mediterranean sea urchin reproductive tissues after metal exposures

      2019, Chemosphere
      Citation Excerpt :

      Similarly, they have been used for ecotoxicological assessment of marine environment in light of increased anthropization, global warming, and ocean acidification (Todgham and Hofmann, 2009; Dupont et al., 2010; Matranga et al., 2012). The sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, one of the most widely distributed echinoderms in the Mediterranean Sea, is recognized as a key species for biomonitoring of marine environment (Warnau et al., 1997; Soualili et al., 2008). Most toxicological studies focusing on environmental challenges exploited the morphological perturbations during P. lividus embryo development exerted by several pollutants (Warnau and Pagano, 1994; Ragusa et al., 2017a; b).

    • Macro and trace elements in Paracentrotus lividus gonads from South West Atlantic areas

      2018, Environmental Research
      Citation Excerpt :

      Studies indicate that a relationship can exist between metal content in water and organisms’ tissue (Reis et al., 2013). Warnau et al. (1997) also found that bioconcentration of Cd in P. lividus body compartments is directly proportional to Cd concentration present in seawater. The same study revealed that Cd displays a long biological half-life in echinoid tissues (Warnau et al., 1997), thus being suggested that P. lividus can be a valuable species to biomonitor Cd contamination in the marine environment.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text