Abstract
The present work analyzes the concentrations of various metals (Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the edible part of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis from the Ria Formosa lagoon (Portugal). Mussels of a similar size (5–7 cm) were collected. The results indicate that the dispersion and accumulation of metals in mussels is influenced essentially by the sources of pollution and the bioavailability of the metal. The highest concentrations of Ag, Cu and Ni occurred in the mussels from sites 1, 6 and 7, which are mainly related to inputs from urban discharges. The highest concentrations of Cr were found in the mussels from sites 2 and 5, located near urban discharges and metallic structures. The highest concentrations of Pb were recorded in the mussels from site 9, associated with fuel from boats and diffuse inputs of this metal. The mussels at sites 3, 4 and 9 presented the highest concentrations of Zn and Cd, probably caused by physical and chemical processes that occur in the boundary between the lagoon and the ocean. The concentrations of Ag and Ni in the mussels of Ria Formosa are relatively low when compared to other geographical locations. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb accumulated in the mussels reveal low contamination. As for the concentration of Zn, the values in the Ria Formosa mussels are higher in the eastern part of the lagoon than in the western part, revealing signs of contamination by this metal.
Highlights
The concentration of trace metals in the environment can be measured through the water, sediments or biota
Biota integrates in space and time the metal concentration in the environment and this concentration is a measure of the
The use of species of the genus Mytilus as for this purposes is very frequent since they are cosmopolitan, tolerate eutrophic coastal waters and great variations of salinity and temperature, and are efficient accumulators of several trace metals (Kennish, 1992; Rainbow, 1995)
Summary
IntroducciónThe concentration of trace metals in the environment can be measured through the water, sediments or biota. En el espacio y el tiempo, la concentración de metales en el ambiente y ésta constituye una medida de su biodisponibilidad, Ciencias Marinas, Vol 31, No 1B, 2005 bioavailability of the metal This is because many organisms are able to concentrate metals in much higher concentrations than those present in the marine environment (Rainbow, 1996). Marine organisms used to quantify metal bioavailability are designated as bioindicators, sentinel organisms or biomonitors They should comply with several criteria, such as being sedentary and representative of a wide area, having a long life span, being abundant, easy to identify and available for sampling all year round, providing sufficient tissue for analysis, being resistant to stress caused by handling and transportation, and tolerating wide variations of physical and chemical parameters. The Mussel Watch developed by Goldberg et al (1978) is considered of extreme importance (Lauenstein et al, 1990)
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