Osmoregulatory power influences tissue ionic composition after salinity acclimation in aquatic decapods.

Decapod crustaceans show variable degrees of euryhalinity and osmoregulatory capacity, by responding to salinity changes through anisosmotic extracellular regulation and/or cell volume regulation. Cell volume regulatory mechanisms involve exchange of inorganic ions between extra- and intra-cellular (tissue) compartments. Here, this interplay of inorganic ions between both compartments has been evaluated in four decapod species with distinct habitats and osmoregulatory strategies. The marine/estuarine species Litopenaeus vannamei (Lv) and Callinectes danae (Cd) were submitted to reduced salinity (15‰), after acclimation to 25 and 30‰, respectively. The freshwater Macrobrachium acanthurus (Ma) and Aegla schmitti (As) were submitted to increased salinity (25‰). The four species were salinity-challenged for both 5 and 10 days. Hemolymph osmolality, sodium, chloride, potassium, and magnesium were assayed. The same inorganic ions were quantified in muscle samples. Muscle hydration (MH) and ninhydrin-positive substances (NPS) were also determined. Lv showed slight hemolymph dilution, increased MH and no osmotically-relevant decreases in muscle osmolytes; Cd displayed hemolymph dilution, decreased muscular NaCl and stable MH; Ma showed hypo-regulation and steady MH, with no change in muscle ions; As conformed hemolymph sodium but hypo-regulated chloride, had stable MH and increased muscle NPS and ion levels. Hemolymph and muscle ions (especially chloride) of As were highly correlated (Pearson, +0.83). Significant exchanges between hemolymph and muscle ionic pools were more evident in the two species with comparatively less AER regulatory power, C. danae and A. schmitti. Our findings endorse that the interplay between extracellular and tissue ionic pools is especially detectable in euryhaline species with relatively lower osmoregulatory strength.