title: Heavy metals in red crabs, Chaceon quinquedens, from the Gulf of Mexico.
abstract: The red crab, Chaceon quinquedens, is distributed in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and is most abundant in an area associated with sediment deposition from the Mississippi River. Sediment geochemistry and biological and ecological traits of red crabs favor accumulation of contaminants. Red crabs, sediment, and bottom water samples were taken from three distinct geographic locations representing areas with differing exposure to contaminant laden effluents from the Mississippi River. Inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometry and atomic absorption spectrophotometry were employed to determine levels of heavy metals in red crab muscle tissue. Ion site partitioning was used to determine metal speciation in sediments. Red crabs showed evidence of heavy metal bioaccumulation in all sample areas with high variability in contaminant levels in individual crabs for some metals. Bioavailability of metals in sediment did not always result in accumulation in muscle tissue.
authors.affiliation: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, University of Southern Mississippi, 703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564, United States. Electronic address: harriet.perry@usm.edu.
authors.forename: Harriet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: University of South Alabama, 5506 Richmond Road, Mobile, AL 36608, United States.
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Isphording
authors.affiliation: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, University of Southern Mississippi, 703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564, United States.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trigg
authors.affiliation: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, University of Southern Mississippi, 703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564, United States.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Riedel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D001682:Biological Availability; D003386:Brachyura / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis; D060851:Gulf of America; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D009132:Muscles / Q000737:chemistry; D045483:Rivers; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Bioaccumulation; Chaceon quinquedens; Gulf of Mexico; Heavy metals; Public health; Sediment geochemistry