title: Sensitivity of the sea snail Gibbula umbilicalis to mercury exposure--linking endpoints from different biological organization levels.
abstract: Mercury contamination is a common phenomenon in the marine environment and for this reason it is important to develop cost-effective and relevant tools to assess its toxic effects on a number of different species. To evaluate the possible effects of Hg in the sea snail Gibbula umbilicalis, animals were exposed to increasing concentrations of the contaminant in the ionic form for 96 h. After this exposure period, mortality, feeding and flipping behavior, the activity of the biomarkers glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, lactate dehydrogenase and cholinesterase, the levels of lipid peroxidation and cellular energy allocation were measured. After 96 h of exposure to the highest Hg concentration (≈LC20), there was a significant inhibition of the cholinesterase activity as well as impairment in the flipping behavior and post-exposure feeding of the snails. Cholinesterase inhibition was correlated with the impairment of behavioral responses also caused by exposure to Hg. These endpoints, including the novel flipping test, revealed sensitivity to Hg and might be used as relevant early warning indicators of prospective effects at higher biological organization levels, making these parameters potential tools for environmental risk assessment. The proposed test species showed sensitivity to Hg and proved to be a suitable and resourceful species to be used in ecotoxicological testing to assess effects of other contaminants in marine ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: ESTM, GIRM, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal.
authors.forename: Adriana S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Cabecinhas
authors.affiliation: ESTM, GIRM, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal; Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sara C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Novais
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sílvia C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Andreia C M
authors.initials: ACM
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: João L T
authors.initials: JLT
authors.lastname: Pestana
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
authors.forename: Amadeu M V M
authors.initials: AMVM
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: ESTM, GIRM, Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal. Electronic address: marco.lemos@ipleiria.pt.
authors.forename: Marco F L
authors.initials: MFL
authors.lastname: Lemos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D002802:Cholinesterases / Q000378:metabolism*; D054750:Ecotoxicology; D023381:Endpoint Determination / Q000379:methods; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008628:Mercury / Q000633:toxicity*; D009068:Movement / Q000187:drug effects*; D012908:Snails / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D002802:Cholinesterases; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Behavior; Biomarkers; Cholinesterase; Marine ecotoxicology; Post-exposure feeding