Cephalopods as a key of the transfer of cadmium to top marine predators

Paco Bustamante (1, 2) , Florence Caurant (1, 2) , Scott W. Fowler (3) , Pierre Miramand (1, 2)

1 LIENSs - LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés
2 LBEML - Laboratoire de biologie et environnement marins - LBEM
3 IAEA-MEL - Marine Environment Laboratories [Monaco]

Cephalopods of 11 species differing in their geographic distribution (French , Irish and faroese waters) and feeding habitats, were analysed for their cadmium contents. When comparing the cadmium levels of these cephalopods, it show that the squid Todarodes sagittatus and the octopus Eledone cirrhosa coming from the Faroe Islands contain respectively 17 and 18 times more than the animals from the French Atlantic coast. High cadmium levels in cephalopods from sub-polar areas were related with high cadmium concentrations in the tissues of top predators in these areas. Weekly doses of cadmium were estimated for the Faroese pilot whales and the Adélie Penguins and were compared to the “Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake” defined by the World Health Organisation for humans. Our results show that cephalopods constitute an important source of cadmium for cephalopods predators.

Mots clés: Cephalopods; Sub-Arctic; Heavy metals; Cadmium; Transfer; Top predators; Seabirds; Marine mammals; Dose

Domaines: Ecotoxicologie

Paco Bustamante, Florence Caurant, Scott W. Fowler, Pierre Miramand. Cephalopods as a key of the transfer of cadmium to top marine predators. Science of the Total Environment, 1998, 220 (1), pp.71-80. ⟨10.1016/S0048-9697(98)00250-2⟩. ⟨hal-00179544⟩