Assimilation and subcellular partitioning of elements by grass shrimp collected along an impact gradient

Chronic exposure to polluted field conditions can impact metal bioavailability in prey and may influence metal transfer to predators. The present study investigated the assimilation of Cd, Hg and organic carbon by grass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio, collected along an impact gradient within the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary. Adult shrimp were collected from five Staten Island, New York study sites, fed (109)Cd- or (203)Hg-labeled amphipods or (14)C-labeled meals and analyzed for assimilation efficiencies (AE). Subsamples of amphipods and shrimp were subjected to subcellular fractionation to isolate metal associated with a compartment presumed to contain trophically available metal (TAM) (metal associated with heat-stable proteins [HSP - e.g., metallothionein-like proteins], heat-denatured proteins [HDP - e.g., enzymes] and organelles [ORG]). TAM-(109)Cd% and TAM-(203)Hg% in radiolabeled amphipods were approximately 64% and approximately 73%, respectively. Gradients in AE-(109)Cd% ( approximately 54% to approximately 75%) and AE-(203)Hg% ( approximately 61% to approximately 78%) were observed for grass shrimp, with the highest values exhibited by shrimp collected from sites within the heavily polluted Arthur Kill complex. Population differences in AE-(14)C% were not observed. Assimilated (109)Cd% partitioned to the TAM compartment in grass shrimp varied between approximately 67% and approximately 75%. (109)Cd bound to HSP in shrimp varied between approximately 15% and approximately 47%, while (109)Cd associated with metal-sensitive HDP was approximately 17% to approximately 44%. Percentages of assimilated (109)Cd bound to ORG were constant at approximately 10%. Assimilated (203)Hg% associated with TAM in grass shrimp did not exhibit significant variation. Percentages of assimilated (203)Hg bound to HDP ( approximately 47%) and ORG ( approximately 11%) did not vary among populations and partitioning of (203)Hg to HSP was not observed. Using a simplified biokinetic model of metal accumulation from the diet, it is estimated that site-specific variability in Cd AE by shrimp and tissue Cd burdens in field-collected prey (polychaetes Nereis spp.) could potentially result in up to approximately 3.2-fold differences in the dose of Cd assimilated by shrimp from a meal in the field. The results of this study also suggest that chronic field exposure can impact mechanisms of metal transport across the gut epithelium that do not influence carbon assimilation. Differences in the assimilation and subcellular partitioning of metal may have important implications for metal toxicity in impacted shrimp populations.