Standard article
24 Jan 2017
Standard article | 24 Jan 2017
Salt tolerance's toll: prolonged exposure to saline water inflicts damage to the blood cells of dice snakes (Natrix
tessellata)
Vanya Koleva1, Yurii Kornilev2,3, Ivan Telenchev4, Simeon Lukanov5, Berna Hristova6, and Nikolay Natchev1,3
Vanya Koleva et al.
Vanya Koleva1, Yurii Kornilev2,3, Ivan Telenchev4, Simeon Lukanov5, Berna Hristova6, and Nikolay Natchev1,3
- 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Science, Shumen
University, 115, Universitetska St, 9700 Shumen, Bulgaria
- 2National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel
Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
- 3Department of Integrative Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences,
University of Vienna, Althanstraße, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- 4Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of
Biology, Sofia University, 9 Dragan Tzankov Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
- 5Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, Blvd. Tzar Osvoboditel 1, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
- 6Department of Organic Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Natural
Science, Shumen University, 115, Universitetska St, 9700 Shumen, Bulgaria
- 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Science, Shumen
University, 115, Universitetska St, 9700 Shumen, Bulgaria
- 2National Museum of Natural History, Sofia, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel
Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
- 3Department of Integrative Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences,
University of Vienna, Althanstraße, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- 4Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of
Biology, Sofia University, 9 Dragan Tzankov Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
- 5Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy
of Sciences, Blvd. Tzar Osvoboditel 1, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
- 6Department of Organic Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Natural
Science, Shumen University, 115, Universitetska St, 9700 Shumen, Bulgaria
Correspondence: Nikolay Natchev (nikolay.natchev@univie.ac.at)
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Received: 21 Jul 2016 – Revised: 28 Dec 2016 – Accepted: 03 Jan 2017 – Published: 24 Jan 2017
Abstract. Dice snakes (Natrix tessellata, Laurenti, 1768) inhabit oligohaline and brackish waters along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, where they often forage at sea. Under these conditions, this species should tolerate highly variable blood plasma sodium concentrations for extended time periods, but the effect of high sodium concentrations to blood cell morphology and physiology is largely unknown. In this experiment, we placed adult dice snakes in waters with different salinity for 84 h, representing the three typical saline concentrations in which dice snakes live and forage: 0.2 ‰ NaCl, fresh water, 16 ‰ NaCl, Black Sea water and 36 ‰ NaCl, World Ocean water. We collected blood through cardiocentesis after exposure to each treatment and used Giemsa's solution for staining the formed elements. We registered numerous nuclear abnormalities (nuclear buds, lobes and blebs) in the blood cells of all investigated specimens. In the snakes placed in the waters with high saline concentration (16 and 36 ‰ NaCl) we found numerous cells with ruptured membranes. These snakes also showed increased mitochondrial activity compared to those in fresh water (1.85 and 2.53 times higher, respectively). Our data suggest that even though dice snakes show a remarkable tolerance to waters with increased salinity, prolonged exposure to it induces significant physiological stress in N. tessellata, which poses a clear limit for their ability to stay in the sea for a long time.