The significance of cephalopod beaks in marine ecology studies: Can we use beaks for DNA analyses and mercury contamination assessment?

José Carlos Xavier; Sónia Ferreira; Sílvia Tavares; Nuno Santos; Cláudia Leopoldina Mieiro; Phil N Trathan; Sílvia Lourenço; Filipe Martinho; Dirk Steinke; José Seco; Eduarda Pereira; Miguel Pardal; Yves Cherel

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.12.016

The significance of cephalopod beaks in marine ecology studies: Can we use beaks for DNA analyses and mercury contamination assessment?

Mar Pollut Bull. 2016 Feb 15;103(1-2):220-226. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.12.016. Epub 2015 Dec 23.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Departamento das Ciências da Vida, Universidade de Coimbra, 3001-401 Coimbra, Portugal; British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, CB3 0ET Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: jccx@cantab.net.
² Department of Health and Education, Institute of Education and Citizenship, 3770-033 Mamarrosa, Portugal.
³ Centre for Functional Ecology - CFE, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal.
⁴ Centre for Functional Ecology - CFE, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal; CESAM and Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
⁵ British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, CB3 0ET Cambridge, UK.
⁶ MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Departamento das Ciências da Vida, Universidade de Coimbra, 3001-401 Coimbra, Portugal.
⁷ Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada.
⁸ CESAM and Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK.
⁹ CESAM and Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
¹⁰ Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 du CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France.

PMID: 26723473
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.12.016

Abstract

Cephalopod beaks found in the diet of predators have been a major source of scientific information. In this study, we evaluated the usefulness of DNA and contaminants analysis (total mercury - T-Hg) in cephalopod beaks in order to assess their applicability as tools in marine ecology studies. We concluded that, when applying DNA techniques to cephalopod beaks from Antarctic squid species, when using flesh attached to those beaks, it was possible to obtain DNA and to successfully identify cephalopod species; DNA was not found on the beaks themselves. This study also showed that it is possible to obtain information on T-Hg concentrations in beaks: the T-Hg concentrations found in the beaks were 6 to 46 times lower than in the flesh of the same cephalopod species. More research on the relationships of mercury concentrations in cephalopod beaks (and other tissues), intra- and inter-specifically, are needed in the future.

Keywords: DNA; Mercury levels; Squid beaks; Toxicology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Antarctic Regions
Beak / chemistry*
Birds / physiology
DNA
Decapodiformes / chemistry
Decapodiformes / genetics*
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Gastrointestinal Contents
Mercury / analysis*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Water Pollutants, Chemical
DNA
Mercury