Mangrove crab distribution in a disturbed area:

consequences of wastewater release

Dimitri Theuerkauff
Sophia Lambert, Yann Mercky, Georgina A. Rivera-Ingraham,
Mathilde Lejeune, Jehan-Hervé Lignot and Elliott Sucré
 Context
Context Aim & methods Results & discussion Conclusion

Mangroves used widely as wastewater (WW) treatment

! Lack of data on
mangrove macrofauna

2
Context
Context Aim & methods Results & discussion Conclusion

=> crabs matter! Key engineers species

10 cm © F. Fromard

Casting of a crab burrow

How do crabs react to WW?

3
Context
Context Aim & methods Results & discussion Conclusion

Experimental site

Mozambique
Channel Mayotte
island

9 crab
species

© Drone go
4
F. Fromard
 Context
Context Aim & methods Results & discussion Conclusion

Experimental site Pre-treatment and retention tank

Since 2008
 Wastewater discharge on parcels
 every day at low tide: 10m3 / day

Chemical profile:
• Biogeochemical background: Fe, Mn
• Low pollutant load compared to mainland France
5
 Context
Context Aim & methods Results & discussion Conclusion

Experimental site

Discharge area
modified in
2016 Resilience

6
Context Aims &
Aims & methods
methods Results & discussion Conclusion

1. Does WW release impact crab density?

2. How resilient is the system?

3. Are crabs physiologically disturbed?

 Salinity and crab burrow density mapping

 Ecotoxicological investigations
7
 Context Aim & methods Results &
Results & discussion
discussion Conclusion

Salinity 2015 Number of moles of particles

Latitude actually in solution
̴ measure of salinity
mOsm

Seawater
(35‰ 1̴ 029 mOsm)

Discharge area

10m
Freshwater (0.2‰ ̴ 6 Osm)

Salinity decrease
Longitude
8
 Context Aim & methods Results &
Results & discussion
discussion Conclusion

Salinity 2015
Latitude
mOsm

Salinity mapping
Seawater

Proxy of wastewater
dispersion

10m
Salinity decrease

Longitude
9
Context Aim & methods Results &
Results & discussion
discussion Conclusion

2015

Salinity Burrow density

mOsm Burrow m-2

10m 10m

Red low salinity Red low burrow density

N.B. Same scale on all graph 10

Context Aim & methods Results &
Results & discussion
discussion Conclusion

2015

Salinity Burrow density

mOsm Burrow m-2

62%

10m 10m

11
(R² ajusted ; F1,30 = 51.59 ; p = 5.419x10-8)
Salinity 2016

New discharging area (01/2016)

mOsm

Good proxy of WW
dispersion again

10m

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Context Aim & methods Results &
Results & discussion
discussion Conclusion

2016

Salinity Burrow density

Burrow m-2
mOsm
High

10m
Low
10m

5%
13
(R² ajusted ; F1,30 = 1.689 ; p = 0.20)
 Context Aim & methods Results &
Results & discussion
discussion Conclusion

Salinity Burrow density

mOsm Burrow m-2
2015
62%

10m 10m

mOsm Burrow m-2

2017
14%

km (R² ajusté ; F1,48 = km

7.807 ; p = 0.007) 14
2015 62%

2016 5%

Decrease in burrow
density

2017 14%

To be continued…
15
 Context Aim & methods Results &
Results & discussion
discussion Conclusion

Some environmental parameter in 2017

WW
Area Salinity (mOsm) NH4-N (mg L-1)
Osmotic stress
Organic waste stress Pristine 1064 ± 79 0.26 ± 0.11
+ other pollutants (970-1164) (0.11-0.46)
Discharged 768 ± 279 13.84 ± 20
(287-1104) (0.26-74.34)
Resilience 1088 ± 98 1.40 ± 1.43
(987-1243) (0.38-3.77)

Ranges

High heterogeneity
Medium is still enriched
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 Wastewater toxicity
Lab study Field study

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Context Aims &
Aims & methods
methods Results & discussion Conclusion

Neosarmatium
meinerti*

Uca urvillei Perisesarma

All bimodal breathers guttatum

*could be N. africanum (Ragionieri et al. 2009)

18
Context Aims &
Aims & methods
methods Results & discussion Conclusion

N. meinerti

Eat leaf litter

and substratum
Burrowing
Highly abundant

Avicennia marina
Less abondant in discharge area

P. guttatum U. urvillei

Filter sediment
Omnivorous
(benthic microalgae
Opportunist
and bacteria)
Shaded area
Burrowing
Muddy open space
Rhizophora mucronata
Uca spp. known to be impacted by
Abondant in discharge area organic waste discharge
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Context Aim & methods Results &
Results & discussion
discussion Conclusion

Hemolymph osmolality
(mOsm/kg) Osmoregulation Mortality (%)

U. urvillei

N. meinerti

P. guttatum

External medium osmolality (mOsm/kg)

20
Able to maintain osmotic gradient in low and high salinity
 Context Aim & methods Results &
Results & discussion
discussion Conclusion

2 weeks in situ
Hemolymph
osmotic pressure

Water burrow salinity

Decrease in hemolymph osmotic pressure 21

 0,3

0,25 Respiration rate in water (μmol O2 min-1 g fBW-1)

*
0,2
* *
0,15

0,1
+300% BURST in O2
0,05

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
N. meinerti consumption
0,18
*
0,15 *

0,12 *
Seawater
0,09 +400%
0,06 Freshwater
0,03 U. urvillei
0
Wastewater
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

0,12

0,1

0,08

0,06
Metabolic
0,04 *
-100%
0,02
* P. guttatum depression
*
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
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 Respiration rate in air (μmol O2 min-1 g fBW-1)

After 2 hours of exposure

N. meinerti U. urvillei P. guttatum

0,06 0,06 0,06

a a a
0,05 0,05 0,05

b
0,04 0,04 0,04
b
0,03 a a 0,03 0,03

a a
0,02 0,02 0,02

0,01 0,01 0,01

0 0 0

SW FW WW

Still Breath
overbreathing normally
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 Context Aim & methods Results & discussion Conclusion

Burrow density is a good

indicator of ecosystem
perturbation

• WW induces a decrease in burrow density

• Burrow density recovers slowly Is it a badly resilient system?

• Crabs are physiologically impacted by WW

exposure

Does this stress induce:

• Evasion behavior?
• Mortality?

Still a lot of physiological tools to

All crab species are not equal
study (digestive tract, breading,…)
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Thank you !
Georgina Rivera-Ingraham Mathilde Lejeune Jehan-Hervé Lignot

Elliott Sucré

25
Yann Mercky Sophia Lambert Kissimati Abdallah Travel grant
 Mapping

At each point:
Water sample + burrow counting

Linear interpolation by triangulation

(Renka, 1996)
N.B. Sediment mounds avoided

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 Some potential biomarkers involved in ammonia homeostasis

Hemolymph Gill epithelium Cuticle External medium

Basolateral Apical

Modified from Leone et 27

al. 2017