METAL DETERMINATION BY ATOMIC-ABSORPTION SPECTROPHOTOMETRY AND X-RAY-MICROANALYSIS IN IDOTEA-BALTICA EXPOSED TO IRON AND COPPER

In Idotea baltica hepatopancreas, Cu and Fe accumulated following diff erent strategies. Unlike Fe, Cu content depended on the duration of ex posure. In the rest of the body, both metal concentrations increased w ith increased duration of exposure, and decreased when the treatment w as interrupted. The hepatopancreatic cells of Idotea baltica were dama ged by Cu, but not by Fe, and this might explain the lower mean surviv orship values in Cu-exposed specimens. When exposure to Cu was stopped , an improvement in cell structure and higher mean survivorship values were observed, indicating that the toxic effect induced by Cu was red uced. We suggest that, in Idotea baltica, the trapping of metals in in ert structures, and their subsequent release outwards as a result of t he normal turnover of the hepatopancreatic cells, might represent the main detoxification system for Cu and Fe.