Ionic, energetic and osmotic substrate changes in the hemolymph of the crab (Ucides chordatus) exposed to sedimentable atmospheric material Juliana dos Santos Pereira, Luis Felipe de Almeida Duarte, Andressa dos Santos Barbosa Ortega, Marina de Souza Paço, Iara da Costa Souza, Magdalena Victoria Monferrán, Daniel Alberto Wunderlin, Marisa Narciso Fernandes, Camilo Dias Seabra Pereira, Helen Sadauskas-Henrique

Abstract

The sedimentation of atmospheric particulate matter can contaminate aquatic ecosystems, as 80% of this material is composed of metals and metalloids, with Fe, followed by Al, Mn, and Ti, being the most abundant elements. Marine invertebrates are good bioindicators for assessing contaminated environments because they are relatively sessile species and are in direct contact with the water/sediment interface. This study evaluated the concentrations of ions (Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺), energy substrates (glucose and lactate), and plasma osmolality in the crab (Ucides cordatus) after exposures of 2, 7, and 30 days to sedimentable atmospheric particulate matter (SePM). The SePM, at the studied times and concentrations, caused a reduction in Ca²⁺ uptake in U. cordatus, possibly due to the metals and metalloids present in its composition.