BIOMONITORING OF AMBIENT CONCENTRATIONS OF CADMIUM,COPPER,LEAD AND ZINC IN THE COASTAL WETLAND WATER BY USING GILLS OF THE GREEN-LIPPED MUSSEL PERNA VIRIDIS

The distribution and concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were determined in the gills and remaining soft tissues of Perna viridis collected from 12 geographical sites (10 from the west and 2 from the east coastal waters) of Peninsular Malaysia. All samples showed that the levels of Cd, Pb and Zn were generally higher in the gill than those in the remaining soft tissues. These results could be due to the fact that gills are the first organ of metal accumulation and larger surface area with mucus sheets in the organ. Since the mussel gill is a better accumulator of Cd, Pb and Zn of ambient seawater than remaining soft tissue, it is a potential indicator of ambient levels of dissolved metals in the ambient seawater. However, further validations based on laboratory conditions are needed.