Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Department
Biology
Major
Biology
Abstract
Pollutants can change the behaviors of invertebrate stream animals. The level of one common pollutant, nitrate (NO3), has been rising in many local rivers and streams throughout the United States due to increases in anthropogenic sources. Nitrate, heavily regulated for its toxic effects to human health, namely the aiding in the development of cancer, also dangerously affects aquatic species by converting oxygen-carrying pigments to forms that are incapable of carrying oxygen. To understand the stress effects of ambient nitrate exposure on P. clarkii, we collected hemolymph samples from red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) over a 48-hour period after exposure to varying concentrations of nitrate. We measured P. clarkii hemolymph glucose as a proxy for a secondary stress response neuropeptide, crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (cHH), using a custom fabricated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. The results of our statistical models indicate a significant interaction at 48 hours and 10 ppm, 30 ppm, and 50 ppm relative to 12 hours and 0 ppm (p<0.05). The effect of sex and length also showed a significant effect with exposure to nitrate (p<0.05). While over the 48-hour period the control treatment at 0 ppm decreases in stress response, at 10 ppm, 30 ppm, and 50 ppm the groups continuously maintain elevated glucose concentrations. Hemolymph nitrate levels were directly related to the external concentrations of nitrate in the surrounding water, indicating that crayfish increasingly sequestered nitrates with greater nitrate exposure. Therefore, the accumulation of non-essential ions, specifically nitrate in crayfish hemolymph and tissue, could reflect the concentrations of nitrate pollutants in an aquatic environment contaminated by mixed pollution.
Faculty Mentor
Lee B. Kats
Funding Source or Research Program
Summer Undergraduate Research Program
Presentation Session
Session C
Location
Plaza Classroom 190
Start Date
1-4-2016 5:15 PM
End Date
1-4-2016 5:30 PM
Included in
Analytical Chemistry Commons, Animals Commons, Environmental Education Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
The effect of nitrate on the release of glucose into the hemolymph of crayfish, Procambarus clarkii
Plaza Classroom 190
Pollutants can change the behaviors of invertebrate stream animals. The level of one common pollutant, nitrate (NO3), has been rising in many local rivers and streams throughout the United States due to increases in anthropogenic sources. Nitrate, heavily regulated for its toxic effects to human health, namely the aiding in the development of cancer, also dangerously affects aquatic species by converting oxygen-carrying pigments to forms that are incapable of carrying oxygen. To understand the stress effects of ambient nitrate exposure on P. clarkii, we collected hemolymph samples from red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) over a 48-hour period after exposure to varying concentrations of nitrate. We measured P. clarkii hemolymph glucose as a proxy for a secondary stress response neuropeptide, crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (cHH), using a custom fabricated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. The results of our statistical models indicate a significant interaction at 48 hours and 10 ppm, 30 ppm, and 50 ppm relative to 12 hours and 0 ppm (p<0.05). The effect of sex and length also showed a significant effect with exposure to nitrate (p<0.05). While over the 48-hour period the control treatment at 0 ppm decreases in stress response, at 10 ppm, 30 ppm, and 50 ppm the groups continuously maintain elevated glucose concentrations. Hemolymph nitrate levels were directly related to the external concentrations of nitrate in the surrounding water, indicating that crayfish increasingly sequestered nitrates with greater nitrate exposure. Therefore, the accumulation of non-essential ions, specifically nitrate in crayfish hemolymph and tissue, could reflect the concentrations of nitrate pollutants in an aquatic environment contaminated by mixed pollution.