Cardiac activity in marine invertebrates in response to pollutants: Automated interpulse duration assessment
- Univ. of Plymouth (United Kingdom)
The updated method of the Computer-Aided Physiological Monitoring (CAPMON) system was used to study the effects of copper exposure on cardiac activity in the shore crab (Carcinus maenas) and the common mussel (Mytilus edulis). This new Automated Interpulse Duration Assessment (AIDA) system measures the time interval between heart beats, and was found to be a more sensitive tool for evaluating cardiac responses to pollutant exposure than other techniques. In addition to information regarding heart rate, also obtained by the CAPMON system (as beats per minute), the new system enables frequency distribution analysis of interpulse duration. An experiment involving C. maenas examined the effects of short term (24 h) and chronic exposure (4 weeks) to copper concentrations 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mgl{sup {minus}1} Cu. Subsequent recovery (6 weeks) of cardiac activity was also examined. In a second experiment mussels were exposed to one of five copper concentrations (in the range of 0--0.1 mgl{sup {minus}1} Cu) and `normal` cardiac activity was compared with activity after copper exposure. A dose-response relationship was established between copper concentration and heart rate in crabs. The control group had the longest mean inter-pulse duration, and mean interpulse duration decreased in a concentration-dependent manner for the copper treatments, reflecting an increase in heart rate. Distribution of interpulse duration changed from a variable, rather wide distribution in control crabs, to a sharp-peaked normal distribution in exposed crabs. Results after 4 weeks exposure were not significantly different from those found after 24 h. Return to normal cardiac activity was evident after a 6 week `recovery` period. Results from the mussel experiment showed burst activity followed by a decline in heart rate in response to copper exposure.
- OSTI ID:
- 244891
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137-; ISBN 1-880611-03-1; TRN: IM9627%%213
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) world conference, Vancouver (Canada), 5-9 Nov 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Second SETAC world congress (16. annual meeting): Abstract book. Global environmental protection: Science, politics, and common sense; PB: 378 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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