Bioconcentration of Cd and Pb by the River Crab Trichodactylus fluviatilis (Crustacea: Decapoda)

The bioconcentration of cadmium and lead by the freshwater crab Trichodactylus fluviatilis was evaluated. Thirty animals were exposed to 200 mu g L(-1) of cadmium and lead for 7, 14 and 21 days. Both metals were determined in gills, hepatopancreas and muscle after dissection and digestion by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Lead was detected only in gills, but without significant difference among different exposure periods. Cadmium was found in all tissues after exposure. Significant differences among cadmium concentrations in animals exposed for different periods suggest an accumulation process, with concentration stabilized after 14 days. Fractionation of free (or labile) cadmium and cadmium protein (possibly metallothionein) (Cd-P) in gills and hepatopancreas were carried out to assess the cadmium transference and storage in the tissues using a solid phase extraction procedure with Saccharomyces cerevisae. Fractionation of free (or labile) cadmium and cadmium protein (possibly metallothionein) (Cd-P) in animals exposed to 200 mu g L(-1) for 21 days in gills and hepatopancreas were carried to assess the cadmium transference and storage in the tissues using a solid phase extraction procedure with Saccharomyces cerevisae. In gills, cadmium was found mainly in the free form, while in hepatopancreas the metal was found mainly bound to the protein (Cd-P). It may be inferred that, absorbed through gills, cadmium was transferred and stored in the hepatopancreas.