Trace metals and oxidative damage in the endangered mollusc Patella ferruginea (Gastropoda: Patellidae)
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1
Universidad de Sevilla, Departamento de Zoología, Spain
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2
Universite de Montpellier, Groupe fonctionnel AEO, France
Intertidal species, living in the realm between terrestrial and marine environments, are more vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances than others inhabiting subtidal and offshore habitats. Coastal development frequently results in trace-metal pollution, a type of impact considered as one of the main threats to Mediterranean marine environments.
The high sensitivity of certain endangered species to pollution events can lead local populations to extinction. Such is the case of Patella ferruginea, considered as the most endangered marine invertebrate in the Mediterranean and which is in clear regression since the early 1900s. Surprisingly, the knowledge about its vulnerability to deteriorated environmental quality from an eco-physiological perspective is non-existent. The fact that the species frequently settles on artificial substrata, thus being potentially affected by diverse pollution sources, makes it urgent to obtain data on the physiological status of such populations. Specimens of P. ferruginea were collected from three different localities in Ceuta: 1) a natural rocky shore from a pristine area; 2) an artificial breakwater outside of the harbor; 3) an artificial breakwater within the harbor. Within each locality three sites were established and six limpets of similar size were collected per site to perform metal content analyses and assessments on the oxidative balance (antioxidant defenses and cell damage on gills).
The most abundant heavy metals found in Patella ferruginea soft tissues were Fe, Zn and As, but only Hg and As showed significant differences among localities. In fact, the specimens collected inside the harbor reached 3-fold higher Hg content than those incoming from the natural area. Additionally, ANCOVA test showed that females had highest values for Zn, Cd and As, while PERMANOVA test indicated that metal composition of the specimens from inside the harbor was different from the rest. On the other hand, antioxidant defenses differed between natural and harbor areas, but no differences were recorded between sexes, whereas cell damage was lower in the natural locality compared to the harbor area.
Our results support those from several other authors that have reported enhanced contents of several heavy metals such as Cu, Pb and Zn for other limpets in areas under pollution. However, to our knowledge this is the first report on differential trace-metal bioaccumulation between males and females in limpets. Taking into account that females of Patella ferruginea are intensively harvested by humans, which is dramatically affecting the reproductive output of several populations, the fact that they accumulate higher contents of some heavy metals could be problematic from a conservation perspective. In addition, results from the present study indicate that pollutant exposure is inducing significant cellular damage and perturbed redox status, a matter which could potentially threaten the future viability of the population settled in Ceuta’s harbor, one of Patella ferruginea most important remaining populations. This highlights the urgency of undertaking a physiological evaluation of some of the most vulnerable populations, and most importantly, of establishing eco-physiological protocols for monitoring and managing populations settled on artificial substrata in the context of the implementation of the recently proposed AMMRs (Artificial Marine Micro Reserves).
Acknowledgements
We express our gratitude to Enrique Ostalé, Juan Sempere, Altai Pavón, Javier Pellón and Curro for their support during the sampling. Thanks also go to Kiam Barri and Mélanie Boël for their assistance in conducting the antioxidant and caspase activity measurements. This study has been financially supported by the Instituto de Estudios Ceutíes program of research grants awarded to F. Espinosa and through a Marie Curie postdoctoral grant (IEF-2013-622087-“IAS-Life”) granted to G.A. Rivera-Ingraham
Keywords:
Patella ferruginea,
heavy metals,
pollution,
Oxidative Stress,
conservation,
Artificial substrata
Conference:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies, Porto, Portugal, 5 Sep - 9 Sep, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
2. GLOBAL CHANGES, INVASIVE SPECIES AND CONSERVATION
Citation:
Espinosa
F and
Rivera-Ingraham
G
(2016). Trace metals and oxidative damage in the endangered mollusc Patella ferruginea (Gastropoda: Patellidae).
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.05.00177
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Received:
29 Apr 2016;
Published Online:
03 Sep 2016.
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Correspondence:
Dr. Free Espinosa, Universidad de Sevilla, Departamento de Zoología, Sevilla, Spain, free@us.es