Trace metal dynamics in mysids from the Cochin estuary

Abstract

Trace metal concentrations in two species of mysids, Mesopodopsis orientalis and Rhopalophthalmus indicus, from the Cochin estuary, were investigated during the monsoon and pre-monsoon periods. Metal concentration (ppm, dry weight) ranges in mysids during the monsoon and pre-monsoon periods were: Fe (775.75 to 1254.12), Mn (7.85 to 14.57), Co (0.76 to 1.75), Ni (11.19 to 20.00), Cu (20.02 to 47.42), Zn (66.83 to 106.62), Cr (14.30 to 28.45), Cd (0.53 to 1.70) and Pb (7.16 to 14.19). Trace metal bioaccumulation in mysids was found to be species-specific with higher metal concentrations in R. indicus than M. orientalis. Data on trace metal concentrations in mysids are important for environmental forensic investigations, useful for bio-monitoring (i.e., tracing) sources of contaminants (i.e., metal pollutants) and their impacts, and valuable for tracking the dispersal pathways of contaminants in estuarine environments.