Seasonal and gender-related differences in morphometric features and cellular and biochemical parameters of Carcinus aestuarii from the Lagoon of Venice Valerio Matozzo * , Alice Boscolo, Maria Gabriella Marin Department of Biology, University of Padova, Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, 35131 Padova, Italy article info Article history: Received 12 March 2013 Received in revised form 22 April 2013 Accepted 24 April 2013 Keywords: Crabs Morphometric features Seasonal variations Gender Cell parameters Biochemical parameters abstract In this study, the seasonal variations in the morphometric features and in the cellular and biochemical parameters of the haemolymph were investigated in both male and female crabs (Carcinus aestuarii). Crabs were seasonally (November 2010eAugust 2011) collected from the Lagoon of Venice, and the moult stage, weight, width and length of the carapace, and width and length of the bigger chela were evaluated. In addition, the total haemocyte count (THC), haemocyte diameter and volume, haemolymph glucose and total protein levels, and haemolymph phenoloxidase (PO) and N-acetyl-b-glucosaminidase (NAG) activities were measured. The results demonstrated that the collected crabs were all in the intermoult stage and that the males were bigger than the females. A two-way ANOVA revealed a sig- nificant effect of season on the THC and the haemocyte volume and a significant influence of gender on the haemocyte diameter. Season and gender significantly affected the haemolymph glucose concentra- tion, whereas haemolymph protein levels were dependent only on the season. In addition, both season and gender significantly influenced the PO and NAG activities in the haemolymph. Overall, the results demonstrated that crab morphometric features as well as haemolymph cellular and biochemical pa- rameters varied markedly as a function of both season and gender. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The crab Carcinus aestuarii (Crustacea, Decapoda) lives along the Italian coast, particularly in the Lagoon of Venice. Owing to its high tolerance to air exposure, starvation, and variations in temperature and salinity (Yamada and Hauck, 2001), this species has colonised several regions outside of its native area (Mediterranean Sea) (Carlton and Cohen, 2003). We have recently demonstrated that differing stress conditions, such as starvation, temperature, leg ablation and bacteria injection, markedly alter the cellular and biochemical parameters in the haemolymph in C. aestuarii (Matozzo et al., 2011a,b,c). Those studies indicated that crabs modulate their biological responses to cope with stress, which is example of the great adaptative ability of C. aestuarii to changing environmental conditions. In the Lagoon of Venice, fishing and farming of C. aestuarii are important economic activities. During crab moulting, local fisher- men select crabs that have lost the carapace and become soft; a crab at this moulting stage is termed “moleche” or “moeche”. The moeche are sold at a high price, thus representing an important source of income for fishermen. This is a seasonal activity (occur- ring primarily in the spring and autumn) that follows the crab growth rates. Despite surveys on the important biochemical as- pects of C. aestuarii, such as haemocyanin features (Beltramini et al., 1999; Dolashka-Angelova et al., 2001), and the possibility of using crabs as sentinel species in biomonitoring programmes (Locatello et al., 2009; Ricciardi et al., 2010; Munari et al., 2010), no data concerning the seasonal and gender-related variations in the morphometric features and in the cellular and biochemical pa- rameters of the haemolymph in C. aestuarii are available in the literature. With regard to other crab species, Madeira et al. (2012) evaluated physiological and molecular intraspecific differences in thermal tolerance of the crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus, and demonstrated that females had higher critical thermal maximum and heat shock protein (HSP 70) levels than males. In this study, crabs (C. aestuarii) were seasonally collected in the Lagoon of Venice and the morphometric features (animal weight, width and length of carapace, and width and length of the bigger chela) and the haemolymph cellular and biochemical parameters were measured in both males and females. In addition, the moult * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ39 049 8276201; fax: þ39 049 8276199. E-mail addresses: valerio.matozzo@unipd.it, matozzo@bio.unipd.it (V. Matozzo). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Marine Environmental Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marenvrev 0141-1136/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2013.04.007 Marine Environmental Research 89 (2013) 21e28