Use of Oxygen Consumption and Ammonium Excretion to Evaluate the Sublethal Toxicity of Cadmium and Zinc on Litopenaeus schmitti (Burkenroad, 1936, Crustacea)

Abstract

Penaeid shrimps are important resources for worldwide fisheries and aquaculture. In Brazil, Litopenaeus schmitti (L. schmitti) is a important commercially exploited species and is an ideal animal for studying the impairment caused by the effects of heavy metals that are often detected in coastal areas. The main purpose of the present study was to detect the acute toxicity of cadmium and zinc to L. schmitti and investigate their effects on oxygen consumption and ammonium excretion, investigations that have not been carried out in this species before. First, the acute toxicity of cadmium and zinc to L. schmitti 24, 48, 72, and 96-hour medium lethal concentration was examined, which resulted in the following values: 0.98, 0.54, 0.32, and 0.18 mg/L for cadmium and 1.64, 1.22, 0.86, and 0.31 mg/L for zinc. Furthermore, we also found that exposure of shrimp to cadmium and zinc caused an inhibition in oxygen consumption of 55.92 and 44.09%, respectively, relative to the control. However, after separate exposure to cadmium and zinc, elevations in ammonium excretion were obtained, which were 174.28 and 162.5% higher than the control, respectively. Water Environ. Res., 79, 641 (2007).

Toxicity of metal mixtures to the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei postlarvae

“…Metals may affect the metabolism of penaeid shrimp: for instance, exposure to Cd or to Zn affects the gill functions of Litopenaeus vannamei and Litopenaeus schmitti (Wu and Chen, 2004;Barbieri, 2007), and of Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis challenged with sublethal levels of Hg (Barbieri et al, 2005).…”

Biology of the king crab Paralomis birsteini on the continental slope off the western Antarctic Peninsula

“…In several crustaceans outside Antarctica, gill necrosis has been linked to accumulation of cadmium (Soegianto et al 1999;Barbieri 2007). Cadmium is more concentrated in the seawater surrounding Antarctica than in other oceans (Sañudo-Wilhelmy et al 2002) and has been reported in Antarctic benthic organisms (Bargagli et al 1996;Lebrato et al 2013).…”

Trace metal distribution in white shrimp (Litopenaeus schmitti) tissues from a Brazilian coastal area

“…This indicates fishing stocks depletion, probably resulting from overfishing and coastal environments degradation. It is known that L. schmitti is sensitive to trace metals contamination, such as Cd, Cr, and Pb (Moraes et al 2000;Barbieri 2007). Sepetiba Bay is historically contaminated by Cd and Zn (Marques et al 2006;Gomes et al 2009).…”