Differences in the effects of mercury on predator avoidance in two populations of the grass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio

• Published in: Marine environmental research 1986, Vol.18 (4), p.277-289
• Main Authors: Kraus, Mark L, Kraus, Doris B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brackish; Cyprinodontidae; Ecologie animale, vegetale et microbienne; Ecologie appliquée; Ecosystèmes marins et saumâtres; Ecotoxicologie, effets biologiques de la pollution; Fundulus heteroclitus; Malacostraca; Marine; Palaemonetes pugio; Pisces; Sciences biologiques et medicales; Sciences biologiques fondamentales et appliquees. Psychologie
• ISSN: 0141-1136; 1879-0291
• DOI: 10.1016/0141-1136(86)90027-9

Adult Palaemonetes pugio were collected from two tidal creek systems, Piles Creek (PC), a mercury polluted estuary, and Big Sheepshead Creek (BSC), a relatively pristine creek. Adult killifish ( Fundulus heteroclitus), a natural predator of P. pugio, were obtained from BSC. For each test, ten treated (0·01 mg/liter mercuric chloride (HgCl), or 0·01 mg/liter methylmercuric chloride (MeHg)), or control shrimp here introduced into a tank containing three fish. The time between capture of the first and second BSC HgCl treated shrimp was significantly faster ( P < 0·05), as was the time between the first and second capture ( P < 0·05) of MeHg treated BSC shrimp when compared with their respective controls. In addition, significantly more ( P < 0·025) BSC HgCl treated shrimp were captured after 120 min. No significant difference existed between control and HgCl treated PC shrimp; however, significantly more PC MeHg treated shrimp were captured after 60 ( P < 0·05) min when compared with their respective controls. These data suggest that PC shrimp, subjected to mercury in their natural environment, are more tolerant to the sublethal effects of both HgCl and MeHg. These data also suggest that behavioral studies can be very sensitive assays for determining the effects of sublethal concentrations of toxicants on populations of organisms.