Biochemical and physiological adaptations in the estuarine crab Neohelice granulata during salinity acclimation

Bianchini, Adalto; Lauer, Mariana Machado; Nery, Luiz Eduardo Maia; Colares, Elton Pinto; Monserrat, José M.; Filho, Euclydes Antônio dos Santos

doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2007.12.001

Cited by 59 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Moreover, unlike most tropical mangroves, semiarid mangroves are subject to low rainfall, relatively high temperatures and evaporation rates, and occasional hypersaline conditions. The burrowing activity of crabs may vary strongly under such conditions-temperature and salinity are considered key ecological factors in determining the behavior, survival, development, and growth of crabs (Rome et al 2005;Diele and Simith 2006;Bianchini et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective geochemistry of iron in mangrove soils in a semiarid tropical climate: effects of the burrowing activity of the crabs Ucides cordatus and Uca maracoani

et al. 2011

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Bioturbation by crabs may affect processes associated with organic matter decomposition in mangrove soils. This study examines how two crabs (Uca maracoani and Ucides cordatus), which are of substantial ecological and economic importance in semiarid coastal areas of Brazil, affect biogeochemical processes in mangrove soils. For this purpose, the physicochemical and geochemical parameters of the soils at different sites were analyzed. The redox potential was always positive at bioturbated sites (+12 to +218 mV), indicating more oxidizing conditions conducive to the oxidation of pyrite and precipitation of oxyhydroxides. In contrast, anoxic conditions prevailed at the control site (Eh<0 mV), and the most abundant form of iron was Fe-pyrite. The highest degree of iron pyritization (DOP) was observed in soils from the control site (∼48%) and the lowest in the bioturbated soils (5-16%), indicating that crabs have an oxidative effect on iron sulfides. The results also suggest that U. cordatus has a higher oxidizing capacity than U. maracoani, probably because it constructs larger and deeper burrows. The results demonstrate that both crabs must be considered as important bioturbators in Brazilian semiarid mangrove soils, being capable of enhancing organic matter decomposition and also shifting the dominant pathway of organic matter degradation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective geochemistry of iron in mangrove soils in a semiarid tropical climate: effects of the burrowing activity of the crabs Ucides cordatus and Uca maracoani

et al. 2011

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“…In this case, the total osmotic pressure of their hemolymph is nearly identical to that of seawater. Therefore, the osmotic stress is minimal and activity of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of the hemolymph osmotic concentration is reduced [26][27][28]. For example, the blue crab C. sapidus hyperosmoregulates its hemolymph osmotic concentration in low-salinity water and acts as an osmoconformer species in water of salinities above 27% [19,29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mRNA Expression and activity of ion‐transporting proteins in gills of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus: Effects of waterborne copper

Martins

Almeida

Marins

et al. 2010

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Waterborne Cu effects on the transcription of genes encoding ion-transporting proteins and the activities of these proteins were evaluated in gills of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus acclimated to diluted (2‰) and full (30‰) seawater. Crabs were exposed (96 h) to an environmentally relevant concentration of dissolved Cu (0.78 µM) and had their posterior (osmoregulating) gills dissected for enzymatic and molecular analysis. Endpoints analyzed were the activity of key enzymes involved in crab osmoregulation (sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase [Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase], hydrogen adenosine triphosphatase [H(+)-ATPase], and carbonic anhydrase [CA]) and the mRNA expression of genes encoding these enzymes and the sodium-potassium-chloride (Na(+)/K(+)/2Cl⁻) cotransporter. Copper effects were observed only in crabs acclimated to diluted seawater (hyperosmoregulating crabs) and were associated with an inhibition of the expression of mRNA of genes encoding the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase and the Na(+)/K(+)/2Cl⁻ cotransporter. However, Cu did not affect Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity, indicating that the gene transcription is downregulated before a significant inhibition of the enzyme activity can be observed. This also suggests the existence of a compensatory response of this enzyme to prevent osmoregulatory disturbances after short-term exposure to environmentally relevant Cu concentrations. These findings suggest that Cu is a potential ionoregulatory toxicant in blue crabs C. sapidus acclimated to low salinity. The lack of Cu effect on blue crabs acclimated to full seawater would be due to the reduced ion uptake needed for the regulation of the hemolymph osmotic concentration in full seawater (30‰). Also, this could be explained considering the lower bioavailability of toxic Cu (free ion) associated with the higher ionic content and dissolved organic matter concentration in high salinity (30‰) than in diluted seawater (2‰).

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“…The following are examples of such projects: embryonic, larval and adult structural, biochemical and physiological adaptations to reduced or changing salinities; developmental plasticity and carry-over effects (e.g., effects of the salinity or nutrition experienced at one developmental stage on the following stages, see a review by Giménez 2006); strategies of larval export; cues for settlement; post-settlement patterns and processes in estuarine habitats; the effects of season, diet, anoxia and osmotic stress on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism; and the effects of pollutants, particularly heavy metals and pesticides on different phases of the life cycle (see Bianchini et al 2008;Pellegrino et al 2008;Anger et al 2008 and the references herein).…”

Section: A Bibliometric Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The crab Neohelice (=Chasmagnathus) granulata: an emergent animal model from emergent countries

Spivak

2010

Helgol Mar Res

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Neohelice granulata (previously known as Chasmagnathus granulata and C. granulatus) is a burrowing semiterrestrial crab found in the intertidal zone of estuaries, salt marshes and mangroves of the South-western Atlantic Ocean. Beginning in the late 1989s, an explosion of publications appeared in international journals dealing with its ecology, physiology, toxicology and behavior. A bibliometric analysis using the Scopus database allowed detecting 309 papers that deal with this species during the period 1986-2009. The number of papers per year increased continuously, reaching a mean annual value of 22.6 during the last 5 years; a great majority of them were authored by researchers from Argentina and Brazil. Neohelice granulata has become now one of the most studied crab species, after Carcinus maenas, Callinectes sapidus, Scylla serrata and Cancer pagurus and C. magister, and it can be considered as an emergent animal model for biochemical, physiological and ecological research.

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Biochemical and physiological adaptations in the estuarine crab Neohelice granulata during salinity acclimation

Cited by 59 publications

References 72 publications

Selective geochemistry of iron in mangrove soils in a semiarid tropical climate: effects of the burrowing activity of the crabs Ucides cordatus and Uca maracoani

Selective geochemistry of iron in mangrove soils in a semiarid tropical climate: effects of the burrowing activity of the crabs Ucides cordatus and Uca maracoani

mRNA Expression and activity of ion‐transporting proteins in gills of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus: Effects of waterborne copper

The crab Neohelice (=Chasmagnathus) granulata: an emergent animal model from emergent countries

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