Propensity to metal accumulation and oxidative stress responses of two benthic species (Cerastoderma edule and Nephtys hombergii): are tolerance processes limiting their responsiveness?
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Marques et al 2015 Ecotoxicology.pdf
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ArticleAuthors
Marques, AnaPiló, David
Araújo, Olinda
Pereira, Fábio
Guilherme, Sofia
Carvalho, Susana

Santos, Maria Ana
Pacheco, Mário
Pereira, Patrícia
KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) DivisionRed Sea Research Center (RSRC)
Date
2016-02-24Online Publication Date
2016-02-24Print Publication Date
2016-05Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/606859
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The chronic exposure of benthic organisms to metals in sediments can lead to the development of tolerance mechanisms, thus diminishing their responsiveness. This study aims to evaluate the accumulation profiles of V, Cr, Co, Ni, As, Cd, Pb and Hg and antioxidant system responses of two benthic organisms (Cerastoderma edule, Bivalvia; Nephtys hombergii, Polychaeta). This approach will provide clarifications about the ability of each species to signalise metal contamination. Organisms of both species were collected at the Tagus estuary, in two sites with distinct contamination degrees (ALC, slightly contaminated; BAR, highly contaminated). Accordingly, C. edule accumulated higher concentrations of As, Pb and Hg at BAR compared to ALC. However, antioxidant responses of C. edule were almost unaltered at BAR and no peroxidative damage occurred, suggesting adjustment mechanisms to the presence of metals. In contrast, N. hombergii showed a minor propensity to metal accumulation, only signalising spatial differences for As and Pb and accumulating lower concentrations of metals than C. edule. The differences in metal accumulation observed between species might be due to their distinctive foraging behaviour and/or the ability of N. hombergii to minimise the metal uptake. Despite that, the accumulation of As and Pb was on the basis of the polychaete antioxidant defences inhibition at BAR, including CAT, SOD, GR and GPx. The integrated biomarker response index (IBRv2) confirmed that N. hombergii was more affected by metal exposure than C. edule. In the light of current findings, in field-based studies, the information of C. edule as a bioindicator should be complemented by that provided by another benthic species, since tolerance mechanisms to metals can hinder a correct diagnosis of sediment contamination and of the system’s health. Overall, the present study contributed to improve the lack of fundamental knowledge of two widespread and common estuarine species, providing insights of the metal accumulation profiles under a scenario of chronic contamination. Finally, this work provided useful information that can be applied in the interpretation of future environmental monitoring studies.Citation
Propensity to metal accumulation and oxidative stress responses of two benthic species (Cerastoderma edule and Nephtys hombergii): are tolerance processes limiting their responsiveness? 2016, 25 (4):664 EcotoxicologySponsors
This work was supported by CESAM (UID/AMB/50017) and “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” (FCT/MEC; Government of Portugal) through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020, through the Research Project PTDC/AAC-AMB/121037/2010, the Investigation Fellowship (BI/CESAM/PTDC/AAC-AMB/121037/2010; Ana Marques), and the Post-doctoral fellowships SFRH/BPD/69563/2010 (Patrícia Pereira) and SFRH/BPD/88947/2012 (Sofia Guilherme).Publisher
Springer NatureJournal
EcotoxicologyPubMed ID
26911481Additional Links
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10646-016-1625-yae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s10646-016-1625-y
Scopus Count
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