HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Martinez, A.-S. Articles by Charmantier, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Martinez, A.-S. Articles by Charmantier, G. Related Collections Crustaceans Physiology

Hydromineral Regulation in the Hydrothermal Vent Crab Bythograea thermydron

¹ Laboratoire d’Ecophysiologie des Invertébrés, EA 3009 Adaptation Ecophysiologique au cours de l’Ontogenèse, Université Montpellier II, Pl E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier cedex 05, France
² Laboratoire Biogenèse des Peptides Isomères, UMR Physiologie et Physiopathologie, Université P. et M. Curie, 7 Quai Saint-Bernard, 75252 Paris cedex 05, France
³ Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire du Développement, UMR 7622, Groupe Biologie Marine, UPMC, 7 Quai Saint-Bernard, 75252 Paris cedex 05, France

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: charmantier{at}univ-montp2.fr

This study investigates the salinity tolerance and the pattern of osmotic and ionic regulation of Bythograea thermydron Williams, 1980, a brachyuran crab endemic to the deep-sea hydrothermal vent habitat. Salinities of 33–35 were measured in the seawater surrounding the captured specimens. B. thermydron is a marine stenohaline osmoconformer, which tolerates salinities ranging between about 31 and 42. The time of osmotic adaptation after a sudden decrease in external salinity is about 15–24 h, which is relatively short for a brachyuran crab. In the range of tolerable salinities, it exhibits an iso-osmotic regulation, which is not affected by changes in hydrostatic pressure, and an iso-ionic regulation for Na⁺ and Cl^-. The hemolymph Ca²⁺ concentration is slightly hyper-regulated, K⁺ concentration is slightly hyper-hypo-regulated, and Mg²⁺ concentration is strongly hypo-regulated. These findings probably reflect a high permeability of the teguments to water and ions. In addition to limited information about salinity around hydrothermal vents, these results lead to the hypothesis that B. thermydron lives in a habitat of stable seawater salinity. The osmoconformity of this species is briefly discussed in relation to its potential phylogeny.