Metallic Study of the Invasive Species Cronius ruber—Assessment of Toxic Risk

Abstract

Three toxic heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and Hg) were analyzed in the newly found invasive species in the Canary Islands, Cronius ruber. Its high growth rate and its widely varied diet are affecting the Canary marine ecosystem. The study was conducted using electrothermal vaporization atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS) and cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry (CV-AAS). Significant differences were found in terms of the location and sex of the specimens, with the highest concentrations being found in areas with higher tourism activity and in the female specimens. On the other hand, the conclusion of the study is that human consumption of this species does not pose any toxic risk to public health, as the levels obtained in muscle tissue do not exceed the established limits for these metals. Therefore, its consumption and the fishing of this species can stop the proliferation of the same in the Canary coasts and thus not be harmful for the ecosystem.

Sewage Pipe Waters Affect Colour Composition in Palaemon Shrimp from the Intertidal in the Canary Islands: A New Non-lethal Bioindicator of Anthropogenic Pollution

“…All bioindicators must meet a series of requirements for their use, such as dispersion and abundance in the territory, sedentary lifestyle, and toleration of contaminating agents in concentrations similar to those of the contaminated ecosystem but without lethal effects. The use of bioindicators to detect anthropic pollution traditionally required an extractive survey, killing the specimens in the process of measuring pollutants within their tissues [24][25][26]. These methods can be problematic when studying endangered species, as well as sparsely distributed populations, for which a small reduction in specimen numbers could cause dramatic effects [27].…”