title: Specific accumulation of arsenic compounds in green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) from Ishigaki Island, Japan.
abstract: Concentrations of total arsenic (As) and individual compounds were determined in green and hawksbill turtles from Ishigaki Island, Japan. In both species, total As concentrations were highest in muscle among the tissues. Arsenobetaine was a major compound in most tissues of both turtles. High concentrations of trimethylarsine oxide were detected in hawksbill turtles. A significant negative correlation between standard carapace length (SCL), an indicator of age, and total As levels in green turtles was found. In contrast, the levels increased with SCL of hawksbill turtles. Shifts in feeding habitats with growth may account for such a growth-dependent accumulation of As. Although concentrations of As in marine sponges, the major food of hawksbill turtles are not high compared to those in algae eaten by green turtles, As concentrations in hawksbill turtles were higher than those in green turtles, indicating that hawksbill turtles may have a specific accumulation mechanism for As.
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime University, Matsuyama, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Agusa
authors.forename: Kozue
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: Reiji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Yasumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Anan
authors.forename: Hisato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanabe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D001152:Arsenicals / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004463:Ecology / Q000379:methods; D020387:Food Chain; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013045:Species Specificity; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014426:Turtles / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics
chemical_list: D001152:Arsenicals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C052920:trimethylarsine oxide; D001151:Arsenic; C038992:arsenobetaine