Assessing lead and cadmium pollution at the mouth of the river Segura (SE Spain) using the invasive blue crab (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) as a bioindicator organism

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate Cd and Pb concentrations in the hepatopancreas, gills, muscle tissue and carapace of the crab Callinectes sapidus and in sediments from the mouth of the river Segura (SE Spain), an area that has undergone great anthropogenic change in recent decades. Lead concentrations were higher than Cd concentrations in the hepatopancreas, gills and muscles; no statistical differences were found between the sexes. Cadmium and Pb concentrations in sediments did not exceed the probable effect level in guidelines for the protection of aquatic life. The Biological Sediments Accumulation Factor (BSAF) was higher for Cd than Pb in the hepatopancreas, gills and carapace. For Cd, the hepatopancreas had the highest BSAF of all tissues, followed by gills. As well, the hepatopancreas had the highest Individual Mean Bioaccumulation Index (IMBI). The hepatopancreas and gills of the blue crab could thus be useful tissues for practical field monitoring of metal contamination in this ecosystem.