Polychlorinated biphenyl contamination of the spider crab (Maja brachydactyla): influence of physiological and ecological processes.
Maja brachydactyla is a decapod crustacean widely distributed along the Northeast Atlantic coasts. The main objective of this work was to establish the influence of ontogenic factors, such as growth, aging, seasonal migrations, and reproduction, on the contamination of this species by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Two populations were studied: One in the Seine Bay (Eastern English Channel), which is exposed to greatly contaminated discharges from the Seine River, and one in the Iroise Sea (Western Brittany), which is little contaminated by such man-made compounds. At both sampling areas, PCB analysis revealed concentrations in hepatopancreas that were 10- and 50-fold higher than concentrations in gonads and muscle, respectively. Levels of 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB153) increased with the age of the spider crabs, whereas their seasonal migrations had no direct effect. No significant sex effect was observed with regards to CB153 levels, but adult females exhibited PCB fingerprints different from those of males, probably because of the influence of the reproductive cycle on enzymatic system activity. Finally, spawning gave rise to a higher CB153 decontamination of female body burdens for specimens from the Iroise Sea than for those from the Seine Bay.
Bodin
Nathalie
N
Institut Français de Recherche et d'Exploitation de la Mer, Département de Biogéochimie et Ecotoxicologie, Pointe du Diable, 29280 Plouzané, France. n.bodin@lptc.u-bordeaux1.fr
Caisey
Xavier
X
Abarnou
Alain
A
Loizeau
Véronique
V
Latrouite
Daniel
D
Le Guellec
Anne-Marie
AM
Guillou
Monique
M
D000367:Age Factors; D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001822:Body Burden; D033364:Decapoda / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D004463:Ecology; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006066:Gonads / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000737:chemistry; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012098:Reproduction; D012737:Sex Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls