The effects of salinity changes on the Polychaete Diopatra neapolitana: impacts on regenerative capacity and biochemical markers

Abstract

Polychaetes have been identified by several authors as a group of marine invertebrates that respond rapidly to anthropogenic stressors. However, studies investigating alterations in Polychaetes affected by climate changes are scarce. Thus, the present study aimed to assess the impact of salinity changes (14, 21, 28, 35, 42 g/L) on the physiological and biochemical performance of the Polychaete Diopatra neapolitana, evaluating the species regenerative ability and biochemical alterations. The results obtained demonstrated that organisms exposed to extreme salinity conditions (14, 21 and 42 g/L) presented higher mortality rates, needed more days to completely regenerate the missing body region and also regenerated less chaetigers, when compared to organisms exposed to salinities 28 and 35 g/L. The present study further demonstrated thatD. neapolitana presented significantly lower glycogen and protein content at salinities 21 and 42 g/L, which can be explained by higher energy expenditure in the physiological and biochemical processes. A marked impairment of the glutathione redox status was also recorded at salinities 21 and 42 g/L. Increased antioxidant enzyme activities were observed at salinity 21 g/L while LPO levels were increased at salinity 42 g/L. Overall the present study demonstrated that the regenerative capacity of D. neapolitana can be used as a tool to assess environmental changes, namely salinity shifts. Moreover, stress related biomarkers revealed to be useful to evaluate the alterations in Polychaetes due to salinity changes. D. neapolitana revealed to be a good bioindicator to salinity alterations.