Reference: Bial. />'////., 146: .W2-31J. (April. l'<7-h THE VANADIUM AND SELECTED METAL CONTENTS OF SOME ASCIDIANS JAMES H. SWINEHART. WILTON R. BIGGS, DAVID J. HALKO A^ T D NORMAN C. SCHROEDER Department of Chemistry, I'nii-crsity <>j California, Davis, California ( >5(il6 The concentration of vanadium and other metals from sea water by animals called ascidians has been known since the turn of the century. Several papers have summarized the information available on the subject (Webb, 1939; Bertrand, 1950; Carlisle, 1968). This paper reports the vanadium and other selected transition metal contents of ascidians primarily from the northern California coast. It has been suggested that the ability to concentrate vanadium to levels greater than the combined levels of other transition metals is confined to certain families in the order Phlebobranchia (Webb, 1939; Carlisle, 1968), but several workers have reported finding substantial concentrations of vanadium in species from the order Aplouso-branchia (Goldberg, McBlair and Taylor, 1951; Trason, 1957; Levine. 1 ( >(>1 ; Ciereszko, Ciereszko, Harris and Lane, 1963). Studies were carried out on cer-tain species from the order Phlebobranchia and Aplousobranchia to determine vanadium content. In addition, since large iron contents have been reported (Endean, 1955) for species from the order Stolidobranchia, observations were made on a species from this order. Electron spin resonance studies were carried out to determine the oxidation states of vanadium in various species. Preliminary spectra are reported for the cells contained in the fluids of Ascidia ccratodcs and the fractions chromatographed from these cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS Species were collected at the following locations in the spring and summer of 1972 and the spring and summer of 1973: Bodega Bay, Ascidia ceratodes; Bodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, Eudistoma psannnion and Eudistoma ritteri; Berkeley Yacht Harbor, Ciona intestinalis and Molgula manhattensis ; Hop-kins Marine Station, Pacific Grove, Amaroucium calijomicum, A. solidinn, Clavelina himtsinani, Cystodytes lobatits, Distaplia occidcntalis, species of genus Eudistoma, Polyclinuin planniu and Svnoicnin par-fustis. Rhopalaea abdoininalis, a Caribbean species collected south of Portobello, Panama by Dr. Charles Birkeland, was sup-plied as a preserved sample by Professor Donald P. Abbott, Hopkins Marine Sta-tion. The samples collected at Hopkins Marine Station were identified by Professor Donald P. Abbott. Other samples were identified by comparison with descriptions in standard references (Van Name, 1945; Ricketts, Calvin and Hedgpeth, 1968). Each sample was cleaned of extraneous material and colonial ascidians were cut to minimize the contamination of the sample by sand. Solitary ascidians were brushed clean and washed. The samples were weighed wet, after drying at 110 C and after ashing at 500-600 C to constant weight. The ashes of several colonial ascidians were redissolved in aqua regia, any remaining participate matter was re-302
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