HOME JOURNALS CONTACT

Research Journal of Environmental Sciences

Year: 2011 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 11 | Page No.: 806-816
DOI: 10.3923/rjes.2011.806.816
Heavy Metals Accumulation in the Barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite from Alexandria, Mediterranean Sea
S. Al- Farraj, A. El- Gendy, S. Al Kahtani and M. El- Hedeny

Abstract: Concentrations of eight heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn, Mn, Fe and Ni) were determined in Amphibalanus amphitrite Darwin collected from two coastal areas (El-Montaza Bay and El-Dekhela Harbour) along the Egyptian seaside of the Mediterranean Sea of Alexandria. Both sites have different levels of pollutions. The sampled animals were collected during the dry season of 2009 (April, May and June) and the wet season of 2010 (January and February). Significant spatial and temporal differences in the concentrations of the studied metals were found. Amphibalanus amphitrite accumulated the heavy metals at relatively high concentrations in their tissues. These accumulations may relate to their very efficient storage detoxification systems and/or due to the biological needs of animal for these metals. Zn, Pb, Fe and Cu presented the highest level of concentration. Among them Zn accumulation was the peak level with the mean value 94.46 μg g-1 dry weight followed by Pb. In addition, the study investigated the spatial and temporal variance of the heavy metals in soft tissues of Amphibalanus amphitrite.

Fulltext PDF Fulltext HTML

How to cite this article
S. Al- Farraj, A. El- Gendy, S. Al Kahtani and M. El- Hedeny, 2011. Heavy Metals Accumulation in the Barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite from Alexandria, Mediterranean Sea. Research Journal of Environmental Sciences, 5: 806-816.

Related Articles:
© Science Alert. All Rights Reserved