Abstract
Tolerance to mercury in two populations of the grass shrimpPalaemonetes pugio was examined at different stages of this animal's life cycle. One population came from a mercury-contaminated creek, Piles Creek (PC), near industrialized Linden, New Jersey. The other population came from a relatively clean area, Big Sheepshead Creek (BSC), near non-industrialized Tuckerton, New Jersey. Larval grass shrimp showed no significant difference between populations in terms of mortality in 0.01 mg/L HgCl2, although treated BSC larvae metamorphosed significantly (P < 0.05) more slowly than their respective control group. While no BSC larvae survived the 0.0125 mg/L methylmercuric chloride (meHg) treatment, PC larvae exposed to 0.0125 mg/L meHg survived as well as their controls, indicating enhanced tolerance to meHg in this population.
Adult shrimp were exposed for 14 days to control, 0.025 mg/L meHg, 0.025 mg/L HgCl2, 0.05 mg/L meHg, or 0.05 mg/L HgCl2 PC shrimp were significantly (P < 0.05) more tolerant to both 0.025 mg/L meHg, and 0.025 mg/L HgCl2 than were the BSC adults.
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis suggests that both populations of shrimp are capable of producing a metallothionein like protein (MT) in response to treatment with HgCl2; MT is found in higher levels in field-caught PC shrimp than in field-caught BSC shrimp. MT was not present in field-collected, viable eggs from either population.
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Kraus, M.L., Weis, J.S. & Weis, P. Effects of mercury on larval and adult grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio). Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 17, 355–363 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055173
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055173