| Laboratory radiotracer experiments were performed to study the uptake, assimilation and retention of americium (241Am) and cesium (134Cs) by the common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis. Uptake and loss kinetics of the radionuclides were measured following exposure through sediments, seawater and food at different stages of the animal's life cycle. Sediment was found to be a minor uptake pathway for both radionuclides in juveniles. Following a short seawater exposure, cuttlefish accumulated 241Am and 134Cs, but only to a limited extent (whole-body CF < 2). Among the cuttlefish organs, branchial hearts and their appendages displayed the highest degree of uptake for 241Am (CF = 42 and 16, respectively), but these tissues contained low percentage of total 241Am... |
