Manganese handling in the shore crab Carcinus maenas: Influence of hypoxia and calcium concentration
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: During oxygen depletion events in marine areas, manganese leaching from reduced sediments may expose benthic organisms to elevated manganese concentrations in hypoxic waters. Various aspects of manganese handling in the shore crab Carcinus maenas were investigated. Exposure to up to 400 mg Mn L-1 for 4 d did not result in mortality. Crabs accumulated radioactively labelled manganese from the water almost linearly with exposure time, reaching a whole-body concentration factor of 21 after 22 d. After uptake from food or water, a major part of the body burden was eliminated with half-lives of 96 and 44 d, respectively. Most of the manganese entering the haemolymph (by feeding or injection) was removed within 24 h, a substantial part being transferred to the exoskeleton. Exposure to 50 and 300 µg Mn++ L-1 in the water led to increased manganese concentrations in most tissues. Hypoxic conditions (19% oxygen saturation) caused moderately increased and decreased manganese accumulation from mg L-1 quantities of manganese in midgut gland and exoskeleton, respectively. Calcium in the sea water competed with uptake of manganese from water into the haemolymph. Investigations at 3 different field locations confirmed that smaller crabs have higher manganese concentrations in their exoskeletons than larger ones; potential reasons for this are discussed.
Source: Marine Environmental Research
Authors: Poul Bjerregaard, Michael Hastrup, Kasper Nowack, Jens Malmkvist
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,440
OpenAlex ID: W4410768976