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Effect of sand contamination on locomotor activity of talitrus saltator (montagu)
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Ungherese, Giuseppe Vittorio, Pasquali Baroni, Davide Ugolini, Alberto |
| Copyright Year | 2010 |
| Abstract | The aim of this study was to assess the influence of sand contamination with Cu on locomotor activity of Talitrus saltator, a well-known biomonitor of trace metals of sandy beaches. Results show that the effect of Cu contamination on locomotor activity of sandhoppers varies according to the exposure concentration. Moreover, the analysis of Cu concentration reveals that sandhoppers accumulate Cu from sand in a dose dependent way. Key-words: Amphipods, trace metals, behavioural biomarkers, locomotor activity. Introduction Changes in animal behaviour induced by the exposure to contaminants have been used as biomarkers fairy recently despite their ecological relevance (Amiard-Triquet, 2009). The control of the spatio-temporal aspects of various activities is essential in many animal species and is associated with complex physiological and behavioural mechanisms. The sandhopper Talitrus saltator, a wellknown biomonitor of trace metals contamination sandy shores (e.g. Ugolini et al., 2004), is a good biological model for the study of the effect of pollutants on locomotor activity. In fact, the activity rhythm of sandhoppers has been extensively studied and presents a circadian (nocturnal) periodicity influenced by the photoperiod (Williams, 1980). In this study we evaluate the effect of exposure to Cu contaminated sand on the locomotor activity of T. saltator. Materials and methods – Adults individuals of T. saltator were collected on the beach of Fiume Morto Vecchio (Pisa, Italy) in summer 2008. In laboratory groups of 15 adults sandhoppers were kept for 7 days, in artificial moist sand, contaminated with different concentrations of Cu (10 and 20 ppm) and control (uncontaminated sand). Experiments were carried out in a thermostatically controlled room (20°±1) with a light: dark (L:D) cycle 12:12. The locomotor activity was recorded by a microwave radar (Guardall MX950, 24 Ghz) connected to a computer provided with appropriate software and already employed to monitor activity rhythm in T. saltator (Ugolini et al., 2007). The comparison between the locomotor activity recorded, for each concentration tested, during the hours of darkness and light was made using the Sign-test. The content of Cu in sandhoppers at the end of the trials was measured by ICP-OES (see Ugolini et al., 2004). Results Sandhoppers tested in the presence of 10 ppm Cu exhibited an increase in activity (23631 bounds) than the control (14266 bounds) (Fig. 1). In contrast, amphipods exposed to 20 ppm of Cu showed a noticeable reduction of total locomotor activity (506 bounds) and, furthermore, respect to controls and animals exposed to 10 ppm, the activity was not concentrate during the hours of darkness (Fig. 1). The analysis of Cu content in tissues of amphipods raise with increasing of the exposure concentration (56 ppm in controls, 105 and 136 ppm in animals exposed, respectively, to 10 and 20 ppm of Cu). Effect of sand contamination on locomotor activity of T. saltator 397 Conclusions – The behavioural responses observed in our study have also been reported in the freshwater amphipods Gammarus pulex exposed to different concentrations of Cu in water (Mills et al., 2006). Moreover our findings are also supported by the LC50 (Ungherese and Ugolini, 2009) for T. saltator. In fact, at lower concentration (10 ppm) than LC50 (13.28 ppm), sandhoppers increase their locomotor activity. In contrast, amphipods exposed to higher concentration (20 ppm) than LC50 show a noticeable decrease of locomotor activity as possible consequence of toxicity of Cu. In conclusion our data demonstrate that the system utilized can detect modifications in locomotor activity pattern between amphipods exposed to clean and Cu contaminated sand and the observed difference could be used as exposure biomarkers. Moreover, our results demonstrate that sandhoppers take up Cu from sand in a dose dependent way. |
| Starting Page | 396 |
| Ending Page | 397 |
| Page Count | 2 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 17 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.sibm.it/PDF%20ATTI/BMM%2017(1)%202010%20Rapallo/Pagine%20396-397.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
