The hepatopancreas of the mangrove crab Neosarmatium africanum: a possible key to understanding the effects of wastewater exposure (Mayotte Island, Indian Ocean)

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 28; no. 43; pp. 60649 - 60662
• Main Authors: Mégevand, Laura, Martínez-Alarcón, Diana, Theuerkauff, Dimitri, Rivera-Ingraham, Georgina A., Lejeune, Mathilde, Lignot, Jehan-Hervé, Sucré, Elliott
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2021; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Ammonia; Antioxidants; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biodiversity and Ecology; Bioturbation; Catalase; Chymotrypsin; Crustaceans; Decapoda; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Environmental Sciences; Enzymatic activity; Enzyme activity; Exposure; Global Changes; Glutathione; Glutathione transferase; Hepatopancreas; Lymphocytes B; Marine ecosystems; Metabolism; Neosarmatium africanum; Oxygen consumption; Physiological effects; Protease; Research Article; Serine proteinase; Shellfish; Superoxide dismutase; Tradeoffs; Trypsin; Waste Water Technology; Wastewater; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Mangrove; Antioxidant enzymes; Crustacean ecophysiology; Ammonia-N; Digestive enzymes; Wastewater; Hepatopancreas histology; white shrimp; blue-crab; digestive enzyme; litopenaeus-vannamei; functional cytology; crustacea-decapoda; oxidative stress; fresh-water; burrowing crabs
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-14892-5

Mangrove crabs are ecosystem engineers through their bioturbation activity. On Mayotte Island, the abundance of Neosarmatium africanum decreased in wastewater-impacted areas. Previous analyses showed that global crab metabolism is impacted by wastewater, with a burst in O 2 consumption that may be caused by osmo-respiratory trade-offs since gill functioning was impacted. As the hepatopancreas is a key metabolic organ, the purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological effects of wastewater and ammonia-N 5-h exposure on crabs to better understand the potential trade-offs underlying the global metabolic state. Catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase, total digestive protease, and serine protease (trypsin and chymotrypsin) activities were assessed. Histological analyses were performed to determine structural modifications. No effect of short-term wastewater and ammonia-N exposure was found in antioxidant defenses or digestive enzyme activity. However, histological changes of B-cells indicate an increase in intracellular digestive activity through higher vacuolization processes and tubule dilation in wastewater-exposed crabs.