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Flux of radioactive cadmium through the sea-skater Halobates (Heteroptera: Gerridae)

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Abstract

Uptake of 109Cd in freshly caught sea-skaters Halobates nereis and H. flaviventris was measured under the influence of abiotic parameters as salinity and stable Cd concentration. After 6 d of accumulation a concentration factor of 8 over the seawater level was reached with no indication for an equilibration. The calculated biological half-life of 109Cd amounted to 9.3 d. Cadmium uptake from food (wingless Drosophila sp. flies reared on cadmium enriched agar) can be considerable. A large pond-skater Limnogonus fossarum, measured for comparative purposes, accumulated cadmium, but at a much lower rate. The results are discussed with respect to observed natural cadmium concentrations in open ocean sea-skater populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Meeresforschung, 2850, Bremerhaven 1, Germany (FRG)

    M. Schulz-Baldes

  2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 92093, La Jolla, California, USA

    L. Cheng

Authors
  1. M. Schulz-Baldes
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  2. L. Cheng
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Communicated by O. Kinne, Hamburg

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Schulz-Baldes, M., Cheng, L. Flux of radioactive cadmium through the sea-skater Halobates (Heteroptera: Gerridae). Mar. Biol. 62, 173–177 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00388180

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00388180

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