Between-habitat comparison of digestive enzymes activities and energy reserves in the SW Atlantic euryhaline burrowing crab Neohelice granulata.

The digestive and metabolic characteristics at the biochemical level underlying between-habitat dietary shift of the SW Atlantic euryhaline burrowing crab Neohelice granulata under natural conditions are unknown. We made studies on adult males of N. granulata from the open mudflat and the vegetated saltmarsh in a SW Atlantic costal lagoon (Mar Chiquita, 37°32'-37°45'S; 57°19'-57°26'W, Argentina). We determined and compared amylase, maltase, sucrase, proteolytic, lipase and alkaline phosphatases activities in the hepatopancreas; glycemia, and glycogen, free glucose, triglycerides and protein concentrations in hepatopancreas, chela muscle, and anterior and posterior gills. The results show that N. granulata exhibits characteristics and between-habitat differences at the biochemical level (i.e. high amylase and disaccharidase activities, differences in total proteolytic, lipase and levamisole-insensitive AP activities in the hepatopancreas, and in the concentrations of glycogen in the gills, triglycerides in the hepatopancreas and of protein in the chela muscle) which could represent adaptive digestive and metabolic strategies to face the differences in environmental conditions (i.e. food availability). The possible relationship between digestive and metabolic characteristics and feeding patterns, type of food available and environmental conditions in each habitat is discussed.