Metal Levels in Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Eggs from the Surface Reflect Metals in Egg Clutches Laid beneath the Sand
Understanding variations in metal levels in biota geographically and under different environmental conditions is essential to determining risk to organisms themselves and to their predators. It is often difficult to determine food chain relationships because predators may eat several different prey...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:10386046 2023-08-27T04:08:20+02:00 Metal Levels in Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Eggs from the Surface Reflect Metals in Egg Clutches Laid beneath the Sand Burger, Joanna 2023-07-14 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10386046/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37505579 https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11070614 en eng MDPI http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10386046/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37505579 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics11070614 © 2023 by the author. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Toxics Article Text 2023 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11070614 2023-08-06T01:15:41Z Understanding variations in metal levels in biota geographically and under different environmental conditions is essential to determining risk to organisms themselves and to their predators. It is often difficult to determine food chain relationships because predators may eat several different prey types. Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs form the basis for a complex food web in Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA. Female horseshoe crabs lay thumb-sized clutches of eggs, several cm below the surface, and often dislodge previously laid eggs that are brought to the surface by wave action, where they are accessible and critical food for migrant shorebirds. This paper compares metal and metalloid (chromium [Cr], cadmium [Cd], lead [Pb], mercury [Hg], arsenic [As] and selenium [Se]) concentrations in horseshoe crab eggs collected on the surface with concentrations in eggs from clutches excavated from below the sand surface, as well as examining metals in eggs from different parts of the Bay. The eggs were all collected in May 2019, corresponding to the presence of the four main species of shorebirds migrating through Delaware Bay. These migrating birds eat almost entirely horseshoe crab eggs during their stopover in Delaware Bay, and there are differences in the levels of metals in blood of different shorebirds. These differences could be due to whether they have access to egg clutches below sand (ruddy turnstones, Arenaria interpres) or only to eggs on the surface (the threatened red knot [Calidris canutus rufa] and other species of shorebirds). Correlations between metals in clutches were also examined. Except for As and Cd, there were no significant differences between the metals in crab egg clutches and eggs on the surface that shorebirds, gulls, and other predators eat. There were significant locational differences in metal levels in horseshoe crab eggs (except for Pb), with most metals being highest in the sites on the lower portion of Delaware Bay. Most metals in crab eggs have declined since studies were ... Text Arenaria interpres Calidris canutus Red Knot PubMed Central (PMC) Thumb ENVELOPE(-64.259,-64.259,-65.247,-65.247) Toxics 11 7 614 |
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Article Burger, Joanna Metal Levels in Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Eggs from the Surface Reflect Metals in Egg Clutches Laid beneath the Sand |
topic_facet |
Article |
description |
Understanding variations in metal levels in biota geographically and under different environmental conditions is essential to determining risk to organisms themselves and to their predators. It is often difficult to determine food chain relationships because predators may eat several different prey types. Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs form the basis for a complex food web in Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA. Female horseshoe crabs lay thumb-sized clutches of eggs, several cm below the surface, and often dislodge previously laid eggs that are brought to the surface by wave action, where they are accessible and critical food for migrant shorebirds. This paper compares metal and metalloid (chromium [Cr], cadmium [Cd], lead [Pb], mercury [Hg], arsenic [As] and selenium [Se]) concentrations in horseshoe crab eggs collected on the surface with concentrations in eggs from clutches excavated from below the sand surface, as well as examining metals in eggs from different parts of the Bay. The eggs were all collected in May 2019, corresponding to the presence of the four main species of shorebirds migrating through Delaware Bay. These migrating birds eat almost entirely horseshoe crab eggs during their stopover in Delaware Bay, and there are differences in the levels of metals in blood of different shorebirds. These differences could be due to whether they have access to egg clutches below sand (ruddy turnstones, Arenaria interpres) or only to eggs on the surface (the threatened red knot [Calidris canutus rufa] and other species of shorebirds). Correlations between metals in clutches were also examined. Except for As and Cd, there were no significant differences between the metals in crab egg clutches and eggs on the surface that shorebirds, gulls, and other predators eat. There were significant locational differences in metal levels in horseshoe crab eggs (except for Pb), with most metals being highest in the sites on the lower portion of Delaware Bay. Most metals in crab eggs have declined since studies were ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Burger, Joanna |
author_facet |
Burger, Joanna |
author_sort |
Burger, Joanna |
title |
Metal Levels in Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Eggs from the Surface Reflect Metals in Egg Clutches Laid beneath the Sand |
title_short |
Metal Levels in Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Eggs from the Surface Reflect Metals in Egg Clutches Laid beneath the Sand |
title_full |
Metal Levels in Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Eggs from the Surface Reflect Metals in Egg Clutches Laid beneath the Sand |
title_fullStr |
Metal Levels in Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Eggs from the Surface Reflect Metals in Egg Clutches Laid beneath the Sand |
title_full_unstemmed |
Metal Levels in Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Eggs from the Surface Reflect Metals in Egg Clutches Laid beneath the Sand |
title_sort |
metal levels in delaware bay horseshoe crab eggs from the surface reflect metals in egg clutches laid beneath the sand |
publisher |
MDPI |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10386046/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37505579 https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11070614 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-64.259,-64.259,-65.247,-65.247) |
geographic |
Thumb |
geographic_facet |
Thumb |
genre |
Arenaria interpres Calidris canutus Red Knot |
genre_facet |
Arenaria interpres Calidris canutus Red Knot |
op_source |
Toxics |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10386046/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37505579 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics11070614 |
op_rights |
© 2023 by the author. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11070614 |
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Toxics |
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11 |
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7 |
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614 |
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1775349050139213824 |