Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, 35131 Padova, Italy.
Mar Environ Res. 2013 Aug;89:21-8. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2013.04.007. Epub 2013 May 9.
In this study, the seasonal variations in the morphometric features and in the cellular and biochemical parameters of the haemolymph were investigated in both male and female crabs (Carcinus aestuarii). Crabs were seasonally (November 2010-August 2011) collected from the Lagoon of Venice, and the moult stage, weight, width and length of the carapace, and width and length of the bigger chela were evaluated. In addition, the total haemocyte count (THC), haemocyte diameter and volume, haemolymph glucose and total protein levels, and haemolymph phenoloxidase (PO) and N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG) activities were measured. The results demonstrated that the collected crabs were all in the intermoult stage and that the males were bigger than the females. A two-way ANOVA revealed a significant effect of season on the THC and the haemocyte volume and a significant influence of gender on the haemocyte diameter. Season and gender significantly affected the haemolymph glucose concentration, whereas haemolymph protein levels were dependent only on the season. In addition, both season and gender significantly influenced the PO and NAG activities in the haemolymph. Overall, the results demonstrated that crab morphometric features as well as haemolymph cellular and biochemical parameters varied markedly as a function of both season and gender.
在这项研究中，我们研究了雄性和雌性螃蟹（Carcinus aestuarii）的血液形态特征以及细胞和生化参数的季节性变化。螃蟹是在 2010 年 11 月至 2011 年 8 月期间从威尼斯泻湖采集的，评估了螃蟹的蜕皮阶段、体重、甲壳的宽度和长度，以及较大螯的宽度和长度。此外，我们还测量了总血细胞计数（THC）、血细胞直径和体积、血淋巴葡萄糖和总蛋白水平以及血淋巴酚氧化酶（PO）和 N-乙酰-β-葡萄糖苷酶（NAG）活性。结果表明，所采集的螃蟹都处于蜕皮阶段，而且雄性螃蟹比雌性螃蟹大。双因素方差分析表明，季节对 THC 和血细胞体积有显著影响，性别对血细胞直径有显著影响。季节和性别显著影响血淋巴葡萄糖浓度，而血淋巴蛋白水平仅取决于季节。此外，季节和性别都显著影响血淋巴中的 PO 和 NAG 活性。总体而言，研究结果表明，螃蟹的形态特征以及血液细胞和生化参数都随季节和性别而显著变化。
