Heavy metal bioaccumulation (Ni, V and Hg) in soft tissues of crustaceans, bivalves and gastropods: A case study on the Northern Persian Gulf

The efficacy of Planaxis sulcatus (Gastropoda), Clibanarius signatus (Crustacea) and Circenita callipyga (Bivalvia) with different feeding guilds were compared as bioindicator of heavy metal pollution (Ni, V, Hg) in an area subjected to petrochemical development in the Northern Persian Gulf, Iran. Sampling was conducted in two locations with different degrees of exposure to petrochemical development: (i) on the intertidal zone adjacent to the petrochemical effluent (Impacted location); and (ii) on the intertidal zone unimpacted by the petrochemical effluent (Control location). No significance differences were found in heavy metal concentrations in whole-soft tissues of the selected organisms, seawater and sediment samples between two locations. The accumulation patterns for the heavy metals in the tissues of organisms and sediment samples followed the order of Ni > V > Hg, except in seawater. The concentration of nickel varied among the studied taxa and followed the order of C. callipyga > P. sulcatus > C. signatus. The bivalve, C. callipyga showed the high concentration of nickel in its soft tissue and the highest values for bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) as well as the biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) for nickel among the studied taxa. The results of the present study suggest that C. callipyga and P. sulcatus are efficient accumulators of nickel, while P. sulcatus and C. signatus are efficient accumulator of vanadium.