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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Clean Sampling and Analysis of River and Estuarine Waters for Trace Metal Studies
Published on: July 1, 2016
Bioaccumulation and depuration of metals in blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun) from a contaminated and clean
Jessica M Reichmuth1, Peddrick Weis, Judith S Weis
1Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 195 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. jreichmuth02@gmail.com
Abstract:
Blue crabs from a contaminated estuary (Hackensack Meadowlands-HM) and a cleaner reference site (Tuckerton-TK) were analyzed for Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn in muscle and hepatopancreas. Crabs from each site were taken into the laboratory and fed food from the other site, or in another experiment, transplanted to the other site for eight weeks. All crabs were analyzed for metals. Overall, tissue concentrations reflected environmental conditions. Tissue differences were found for Cu, Pb and Zn (all higher in hepatopancreas), and Hg (higher in muscle). HM muscle had more Hg than TK muscle, but did not decrease after transplanting or consuming clean food. HM crabs lost Cu, Pb and Zn in hepatopancreas after being fed clean food or transplanted. TK crabs increased Hg in muscle and Cr and Zn in hepatopancreas after transplantation or being fed contaminated (HM) food. Concentrations were variable, suggesting that blue crabs may not be fully reliable bioindicators of polluted systems.
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