MERCURY AND CADMIUM UPTAKE FROM SEAWATER AND FROM FOOD BY THE NORWAY LOBSTER NEPHROPS-NORVEGICUS

Norway lobsters, Nephrops norvegicus, were fed on a mercury- and cadmium-rich diet for up to 50 d or were exposed to sublethal concentrations of organic mercury, inorganic mercury, or cadmium in seawater for 30 d. Cadmium taken up from seawater accumulated mainly in the hepatopancreas and gill, while it accumulated mainly in the hepatopancreas after feeding. Both organic and inorganic mercury taken up from seawater accumulated mainly in the gill, while highest concentrations were found in the hepatopancreas after the feeding experiment. Accumulation of organic mercury was higher than that of inorganic mercury. Although all treatments resulted in the accumulation of mercury and cadmium from seawater and food, tissue distribution of metals differed significantly among treatments. Distributions of organic and inorganic mercury also varied among tissues after uptake from seawater, with organic mercury being more evenly distributed among tissues than inorganic mercury, the latter being found predominantly in the gill.