STUDY OF HEAVY METALS BIO ACCUMULATION IN MANTLE, GILL AND MUSCLE OF PEARL OYSTER, Pinctada radiate, FROM PERSIAN GULF

摘要

Introduction: Marine pollution by heavy metals is an important problem due to their toxicity and their ability to accumulate into organisms (Islam and Tanaka, 2004). The Persian Gulf is as a major area of petroleum resources and the level of pollutionare increasing in this area that can be cause devastating effects to the marine and coastal environments and wildlife habitat. Pinctada radiata naturally found in Persian Gulf and can accumulate high concentration of metals in their tissues (Bou-Olayanet al., 1995). As each tissues play different functions and this may influence the distribution of metals, we studied the heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, Mn ) concentrations in soft tissues (mantle, gill and muscle) of Pinctada radiata as an estimation of metals bioavailability, from different stations of Persian Gulf.