Abstract
The concentration of fluoride in the body parts of a range of Antarctic crustaceans from a variety of habits was examined with the aim of determining whether fluoride concentration is related to lifestyle or phylogenetic grouping. Euphausiids had the highest overall fluoride concentrations of a range of Antarctic marine crustaceans examined; levels of up to 5477 μg g−1 were found in the exoskeleton of Euphausia crystallorophias. Copepods had the lowest fluoride levels (0.87 μg g−1 whole-body); some amphipods and mysids also exhibited relatively high fluoride levels. There was no apparent relationship between the lifestyle of the crustaceans and their fluoride level; benthic and pelagic species exhibited both high and low fluoride levels. Fluoride was concentrated in the exoskeleton, but not evenly distributed through it; the exoskeleton of the head, carapace and abdomen contained the highest concentrations of fluoride, followed by the feeding basket and pleopods, and the eyes. The mouthparts of E.␣superba contained almost 13 000 μg F g−1 dry wt. Antarctic krill tail muscle had low levels of fluoride. After long-term (1 to 5 yr) storage in formalin, fluoride was almost completely lost from whole euphausiids.
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Received: 1 April 1998 / Accepted: 29 July 1998
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Sands, M., Nicol, S. & McMinn, A. Fluoride in Antarctic marine crustaceans. Marine Biology 132, 591–598 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050424
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050424