Biochemical and Physiological Responses in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Following Dietary Exposure to Copper and Cadmium

Three experiments were conducted with Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) to assess the effects of dietary exposure to copper and cadmium. The results presented here provide an overview, details of each experiment will be published in full elsewhere. In the first experiment, salmon parr exposed for four weeks to 35 and 700 mg Cu kg⁻¹ diet had significantly elevated intestinal copper concentrations, cell proliferation (PCNA) and apoptosis rates compared to control fish. No differences were observed in gill or plasma copper concentrations among the groups. In contrast to the controls, the Cu exposed groups did not grow significantly during the exposure period. The second experiment (three months exposure) was conducted to assess the effects of dietary copper (control, 35, 500, 700, 900 or 1750 mg Cu kg⁻¹ diet) on growth and feed utilization in salmon fingerlings. Growth was significantly reduced after three months exposure to dietary Cu concentrations above 500 mg kg⁻¹. Similarly, copper body burdens were significantly higher in fish exposed to elevated dietary copper concentrations (above 35 mg Cu kg⁻¹ diet). In the third experiment, salmon parr were exposed to one of six dietary cadmium concentrations (0, 0.5, 5, 25, 125 or 250 mg Cd kg⁻¹ diet) for four months. Cadmium accumulated in the liver>intestine>gills of exposed fish. Rates of apoptosis and cell proliferation in the intestine increased following exposure to dietary cadmium. Exposure to elevated concentrations of dietary cadmium had no effect on growth in salmon parr. Results from these studies indicate that cellular biomarkers have potential as early warning signs of negative effects on the overall fitness of an organism.     

The Contribution of Ecdysis to the Fate of Copper, Zinc and Cadmium in Grass Shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio Holthius

Depuration through ecdysis by grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, was examined by exposure to a sublethal mixture of copper, zinc and cadmium for 72 h, followed by placement in uncontaminated water to molt. Percent eliminated with the exuviae varied for each metal; of the total intermolt body burden, 11% Cu, 18% Zn and 26% Cd was associated with the exuviae. Cu concentrations of intermolt exoskeletons were significantly higher than of the exuviae of post-ecdysis shrimp suggesting that Cu contained in the exoskeleton was reabsorbed before molting. Exuvial Cd concentration was not significantly different than the concentration of the intermolt exoskeleton, suggesting that most Cd in the exoskeleton was depurated with the exuviae. Although Zn whole-body burdens were lower after a molt, Zn losses were most likely due to excretion because exuvial concentrations were significantly lower than in the intermolt exoskeleton. Cu, Cd and Zn concentrations in exuviae shed in metal-enriched water were significantly higher due to adsorption than exuviae produced in uncontaminated water.     

Estimation of return periods for extreme sea levels: a simplified empirical correction of the joint probabilities method with examples from the French Atlantic coast and three ports in the southwest of the UK

The joint probability method (JPM) to estimate the probability of extreme sea levels (Pugh and Vassie, Extreme sea-levels from tide and surge probability. Proc. 16th Coastal Engineering Conference, 1978, Hamburg, American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, pp 911–930, 1979) has been applied to the hourly records of 13 tide-gauge stations of the tidally dominated Atlantic coast of France (including Brest, since 1860) and to three stations in the southwest of the UK (including Newlyn, since 1916). The cumulative total length of the available records (more than 426 years) is variable from 1 to 130 years when individual stations are considered. It appears that heights estimated with the JPM are almost systematically greater than the extreme heights recorded. Statistical analysis shows that this could be due: (1) to surge–tide interaction (that may tend to damp surge values that occur at the time of the highest tide levels), and (2) to the fact that major surges often occur in seasonal periods that may not correspond to those of extreme astronomical tides. We have determined at each station empirical ad hoc correction coefficients that take into account the above two factors separately, or together, and estimated return periods for extreme water levels also at stations where only short records are available. For seven long records, for which estimations with other computing methods (e.g. generalized extreme value [GEV] distribution and Gumbel) can be attempted, average estimations of extreme values appear slightly overestimated in relation to the actual maximum records by the uncorrected JPM (+16.7 ± 7.2 cm), and by the Gumbel method alone (+10.3 ± 6.3 cm), but appear closer to the reality with the GEV distribution (−2.0 ± 5.3 cm) and with the best-fitting correction to the JPM (+2.9 ± 4.4 cm). Because the GEV analysis can hardly be extended to short records, it is proposed to apply at each station, especially for short records, the JPM and the site-dependent ad hoc technique of correction that is able to give the closest estimation to the maximum height actually recorded. Extreme levels with estimated return times of 10, 50 and 100 years, respectively, are finally proposed at all stations. Because astronomical tide and surges have been computed (or corrected) in relation to the yearly mean sea level, possible changes in the relative sea level of the past, or foreseeable in the future, can be considered separately and easily added to (or deduced from) the extremes obtained. Changes in climate, on the other hand, may modify surge and tide distribution and hence return times of extreme sea levels, and should be considered separately. Parts of this paper have been presented orally at the session “Geophysical extremes: scaling aspects and modern statistical approaches” of the EGU General Assembly, Vienna, 2–6 April 2006.