Table 2.—Clearance of cadmium from organs and tissues of cunners, Tautogolabrus adspersus, held in flowing 
natural seawater for 1 mo after a 96-hr exposure to 24 ppm cadmium, as CdCl,-2!2 H,O. 
Cadmium Concentration 
Organ 
or Immediately after exposure 
tissue Average (range) 
Flesh 0.17 (0.11 - 0.22) 
Liver 64.2 (30.5 - 11722) 
Gills 8.1 (Ge 10.6 ) 
Red blood cells 6.6 (5:2) ‘and £8:0)) 
Serum 5.9 (5.9 and 6.0 ) 
Carcass 4.8 (0:9) “and 1622") 
Flesh 0.06 - 
Liver 0.7 (0.6 and 0.8 ) 
Gills 0.4 - 
Red blood cells 0.4 - 
Serum 0.4 = 
Carcass 0.09 (0.08 and _ 0.10) 
After 1 mo in clean seawater 
Average (range) 
TEST FISH 
0.12 (0.08 - 0.22) 
92.0 (62.0 - 155.0 )! 
10.0 ( 5.0 5.) allt) )} 
3.5 ( 2.8 - 4.7 ) 
1.8 (0.8 and 2.8 ) 
1.5 ( 0.7 - 2.3 ) 
3.5 ( 2.8 - 4.2 ) 
CONTROL FISH 
0.05 - 
1.0 
0.3 
0.4 
0.5 
0.12 
' The livers of 4 fish had cadmium concentrations in the range of 62-155 ppm, whereas the livers of 3 other fish 
had cadmium concentrations in the range of 5-11 ppm. 
clean running seawater for 1 mo after exposure con- 
tained 2.8-4.6 ppm cadmium. 
Concentrations of cadmium found in tissues of con- 
trol fish (Table 2) were all less than 1 ppm. 
DISCUSSION 
In the literature, studies of the uptake of cadmium 
and other metals by marine animals deal 
predominantly with shellfish. Pringle et al. (1968), 
who studied the uptake of five metals by several 
species of shellfish, examined only the soft-shell clam, 
Mya arenaria, for cadmium uptake. Clams exposed to 
0.05 ppm cadmium (nitrate) in flowing seawater for 70 
days accumulated 8 ppm (whole-body wet weight), 
and clams exposed to 0.1 ppm for 56 days ac- 
cumulated 9 ppm. Shuster and Pringle (1969) exposed 
Kastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, to cadmium 
(nitrate) in flowing seawater for 20 wk. At a 0.1 ppm 
exposure level, oysters accumulated 90-100 ppm cad- 
mium (whole-body wet weight) within 13 wk, whereas 
at a 0.2 ppm exposure level, the animals accumulated 
the same concentrations of cadmium within 8-10 wk. 
After only 1 wk at 0.1 and 0.2 ppm exposure levels, the 
oysters accumulated 7-24 ppm cadmium, with no ap- 
parent difference due to exposure levels. 
Eisler et al. (1972) studied cadmium uptake by 
Eastern oysters; American lobsters, Homarus 
americanus; bay scallops, Aquipecten irradians; and 
mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus. The animals 
were held for 21 days in flowing seawater containing 
10 ppb cadmium (CdCl, «22 H, O). Accumulation of 
cadmium was highest in the oysters, with 1.49 ppm 
(whole-body wet weight) in the exposed animals and 
0.33 ppm in control animals. The mummichog had 
whole-body residues of 0.48 ppm cadmium for ex- 
posed fish and 0.33 ppm in control fish. 
For comparison with these studies, a combined es- 
timate of all data was made for whole-body residues in 
cunners exposed to 24 ppm cadmium for 96 hr (see 
clearance study, Table 2). The whole-body residues 
were calculated to be 2-4 ppm (wet weight) for ex- 
posed fish and 0.1-0.2 ppm for control fish. Although a 
direct comparison of these data with those cited above 
for oysters is not possible, it would appear that cunner 
accumulates cadmium to a much lesser extent than 
the oyster. 
LITERATURE CITED 
BALL, I. R. 
1967. The toxicity of cadmium to rainbow trout (Salmo 
gairdnert Richardson). Water Res. 1:805-806. 
EISLER, R. 
1971. Cadmium poisoning in Fundulus heteroclitus (Pisces: 
Cyprinodontidae) and other marine organisms. J. Fish. Res. 
Board Can. 28:1225-1234. 
