Abstract

Moulting is a biological process shared by aquatic macroinvertebrates, but while the exoskeleton is believed to be a major sink of metal pollutants, the contribution of the moulting of the crustacean exoskeleton to total accumulated metal concentrations is insufficiently considered. We present a conceptual, qualitative model that illustrates the impact of moulting on the whole-body burden of an unspecified metal analyte in a hypothetical moulting invertebrate. The model demonstrates that moult stage is a contributor to the whole-body pollutant concentration, and that this introduces a temporal component even in steady-state exposure conditions. The applicability of this model is illustrated by comparison to published results of pre- and post-moult accumulations. A solution for reducing this variability in the measurement of whole-body metal concentrations is presented, and its potential application to both ex-situ and in-situ studies of biomonitor species is discussed.

中文翻译：

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减轻负荷：蜕皮是全身金属浓度变化的原因

摘要

蜕皮是水生大型无脊椎动物共有的生物过程，但据认为外骨骼是金属污染物的主要汇聚地，但未充分考虑甲壳类外骨骼的蜕皮对总累积金属浓度的贡献。我们提出了一个概念性，定性的模型，该模型说明了换毛对假想的换羽无脊椎动物中未指定金属分析物的全身负担的影响。该模型表明，换毛阶段是全身污染物浓度的贡献者，并且即使在稳态暴露条件下，这也会引入时间成分。通过与换羽前后积累的公布结果进行比较，说明了该模型的适用性。易地和原位生物监测品种的研究进行了讨论。