Área de Oceanografía Química, Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía, CCT-CONICET, Camino La Carrindanga, km 7.5, B8000FWB, Bahía Blanca, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2013 Jan;64(1):110-8. doi: 10.1007/s00244-012-9804-1. Epub 2012 Nov 4.
Bioindicators can be used to determine spatial and/or temporal variations of heavy metals in a certain coastal or marine environments. This study investigated the potential use of the burrowing crab Neohelice granulata from two different locations in the Bahía Blanca estuary, a moderately polluted ecosystem. Concentrations of zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) in soft tissues of male and female crabs were measured. In addition, concentrations of the three metals in eggs were compared with concentrations in female crabs. No geographical differences were found for any of the three metals, whereas sexual and seasonal differences were obtained for Zn and Ni, with the winter season posing lower concentrations. Moreover, the three metals were detectable in eggs and were lower than concentrations in female crabs (except for Zn). Finally, the usefulness of this species as a potential bioindicator of heavy-metal pollution within this estuarine ecosystem is discussed.
生物标志物可用于确定特定沿海或海洋环境中重金属的空间和/或时间变化。本研究调查了来自 Bahía Blanca 河口两个不同地点的穴居蟹 Neohelice granulata 在中度污染生态系统中的潜在用途。测量了雄性和雌性螃蟹软组织中锌 (Zn)、镍 (Ni) 和铅 (Pb) 的浓度。此外，还比较了三种金属在卵中的浓度与雌性螃蟹中的浓度。三种金属在任何一个地点都没有发现地理差异，而 Zn 和 Ni 则存在性别和季节性差异，冬季浓度较低。此外，这三种金属在卵中可检测到，且浓度低于雌性螃蟹（Zn 除外）。最后，讨论了该物种作为该河口生态系统中重金属污染潜在生物标志物的有用性。
