Biomonitoring of Heavy Metals Using Intertidal Mollusks in East Johor Coastal Waters

Abstract

Interspecies, inter-tissue and interspatial dissimilarities of trace metals in particular body parts of Saccostrea cucullata, Thais clavigera and Nerita chameleon from the east Johor coastal waters were compared. Metals of interest includes Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Mn, Co, Se and Sr. Bivalve mollusk S. cucullata evidenced to be a worthy bioindicator for Zn and Cu while the two gastropod molluscs, T. clavigera for Cd and Se, and N. chameleon for Pb, Mn and Sr. The prominent concentration of metals originate in T. clavigera may be the outcome of biomagnification transfer from the S. cucullata on which they feed while for N. chameleon, it might be resulting from their herbivorous feeding behavior on algae on rocks which they graze. The metal accumulation patterns indicate consistent enrichment of essential metals in soft tissue. Values of operculum to tissue ratio (OTR) and shell to tissue (STR) higher than unity in T. clavigera indicate that operculum had higher affinities for Pb, Mn and Se while shell had higher affinities for Co and Sr. In N. chameleon, values of OTR and STR higher than unity displayed that operculum and shell had similar higher affinities for Co and Sr and Cd, Co and Sr, respectively. Significant interspatial variations (p< 0.05 and p< 0.01) in trace metals were noted. Assessment of metal concentration with maximum permissible limits of toxic metals in food shown the values were well within safety levels, except for Zn in S. cucullata that need to be monitored.Keywords: heavy metals, intertidal mollusks, body parts, safety level Abstrak Perbezaan logam surih antara spesis, antara tisu dan antara kawasan dalam bahagian badan tertentu Saccostrea cucullata, Thais clavigera dan Nerita chameleon dari perairan pantai Johor timur telah dikaji. Logam yang menjadi perhatian termasuklah Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Mn, Co, Se dan Sr. Moluska bivalvia S. cucullata terbukti berpotensi menjadi bioindikator bagi Zn dan Cu manakala kedua-dua moluska gastropoda, T. clavigera bagi Cd dan Se, dan N. chameleon bagi Pb, Mn dan Sr. Kepekatan logam yang menonjol dari T. clavigera kemungkinan terhasil dari pemindahan biomagnifikasi dari S. cucullata yang dimakan manakala bagi N. chameleon, ia berkemungkinan terhasil dari tabiat pemakanan secara herbivor ke atas alga di atas batu. Corak pengumpulan logam menunjukkan kepekatan logam perlu yang konsisten dalam tisu lembut. Nilai ratio operculum kepada tisu (OTR) dan ratio kulit ke tisu (STR) lebih tinggi dari paduan dalam T. clavigera menunjukkan operculum mempunyai affiniti yang tinggi bagi Pb, Mn dan Se manakala kulit pula mempunyai affiniti yang tinggi bagi Co dan Sr. Dalam N. chameleon, nilai OTR dan STR lebih tinggi dari paduan menggambarkan bahawa operculum dan kulit mempunyai persamaan affiniti yang tinggi bagi Co dan Sr dan Cd, Co dan Sr, masing-masing. Variasi antara kawasan yang signifikan (p<0.05 and p<0.01) dalam logam surih telah dicatatkan. Pemeriksaan kepekatan logam dengan tahap maksimum yang dibenarkan bagi logam berat menunjukkan nilai masih lagi di bawah tahap sela...

Echinoderm fisheries: their culture, conservation, bioactive compounds and therapeutic applications

“…Among them, 11 Indo-Pacific species have recently been documented in Malaysia's coral reef communities (Figure 7). These are: Diadema setosum, D. savignyi, Echinothrix diadema, Salmacis sphaeroides, Parasalenia gratiosa, Toxopneustes pileolus, Astropyga radiata, Echinometra mathaei, Echinothrix calamaris, Salmaciella dussumieri and Tripneustes gratilla (Rahman and Yusoff, 2010;Rahman et al, 2012a;Rahman et al, 2012b). However, some systematic works have been done on the abundance, distribution and population growth patterns of D. setosum and S. sphaeroides in Malaysia (Rahman et al, 2012a;Rahman et al, 2013) but few published Culture, conservation, bioactive compounds and therapeutic applications Rahman et al, information on their breeding, nursing, seed production and culture techniques are available.…”

“…Sea urchins are typical objects of research in different fields of biology, ecology, biodiversity, aquaculture and conservation. At the same time, they are used as raw material to produce foodstuff, in particular, the product of processing gonads known as "Sea urchin Roe", and is considered as a prized delicacy in Asian, Mediterranean and Western Hemisphere Culture, conservation, bioactive compounds and therapeutic applications Rahman et al, countries (Kaneniwa and Takagi, 1986;Lawrence et al, 1997;Rahman and Yusoff, 2010). The gonads of sea urchins either fresh or in the form of processed food have long been using as luxury foods in Japan (Shimabukuro, 1991).…”

“…The peoples of the Asian Pacific Region has also long been using it as a remedy for improving general living tone, treatment for a number of diseases and strengthening of the sexual potency of men, especially the middle aged (Seifullah et al, 1995;Yur'eva et al, 2003). Although, sea urchin gonad has not yet been used as food in Malaysia, it is reported that in Sabah, an indigenous tribe known as 'Bajau Laut' eats sea urchin roe with rice after adding spices (Rahman and Yusoff, 2010;Rahman et al, 2012a;Rahman et al, 2014a;Rahman et al, 2014b). This delicacy is usually prepared for special events such as Lepa-Lepa Festival, wedding ceremony and other cultural events and is being treated as valuable fishery resources, especially by Bajau people (Rahim and Nurhasan, 2011).…”