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

Author:

Lozano-Bilbao Enrique1,Alcázar-Treviño Jesús23ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Grupo Interuniversitario de Toxicología Alimentaria y Ambiental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), Campus de Ofra, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, 38071 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

2. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Spain

3. Canary Islands Oceanographic Centre, Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), 38180 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

Abstract

Marine pollution through anthropic outfalls like sewage pipes is a growing concern since point-source pollution can affect many organisms. Investigating pollutant concentrations in organisms usually requires sacrificing the organisms, but here we propose a new method to infer anthropic pollution in the intertidal by measuring colour levels in Palaemon elegans rockpool shrimp. We took pictures of live shrimp from pools near sewage pipes and control zones in three of the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife), and measured their RGB (red, green and blue) abdominal colour composition. We then statistically compared colours from the control zone and sewage pipe and between islands. We found a clear differentiation in colour composition between the control zone and areas with a sewage pipe. Our results supported the hypothesis that pollution affects colouration in these invertebrates. We, therefore, suggest the use of darker colourations in P. elegans as a bioindicator of anthropic pollution, a first sign that should spur more in-depth studies in the affected area. This methodology is pollutant unspecific but non-extractive, so we propose its use as a citizen science tool to inform scientists and technicians of possible illegal and/or untreated wastewater that could affect intertidal biota.

Funder

Spanish Ministry of Universities

postdoctoral program Catalina Ruiz

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Nature and Landscape Conservation,Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous),Ecological Modeling,Ecology

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