No significant changes in hemolymph Na+ and K+ concentrations occurred during molt stages of Callinectes sapidus acclimated to high salinity, despite uptake of large amounts of water at molt. Free Mg+2 concentrations increased in the hemolymph of late premolt and early postmolt crabs, and free Ca+2 levels decreased as calcification of the cuticle progressed in postmolt animals. Significant increases in branchial and epidermal Na+ + K+-ATPase activities in late premolt and postmolt animals suggested that this enzyme might play an important role in establishing local osmotic gradients to support water influx across these epithelia, and in producing transmembrane Na+ gradients which would drive epidermal Ca+2 efflux during postmolt calcification.
CITATION STYLE
Towle, D. W., & Mangum, C. P. (1985). Ionic Regulation and Transport Atpase Activities During the Molt Cycle in the Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 5(2), 216–222. https://doi.org/10.2307/1547868
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