Accumulation and distribution of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn in the soft tissue and shell of oysters collected from the northern coast of Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf, Iran

A study was conducted to determine the bioaccumulation and relationships of some essential and non essential metals in the different tissues of Saccostera cucullata to sediments by calculating their biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) values and the correlation analysis. For this study, 53 rocky oysters (Saccostrea cucullata) and 15 surface sediment samples were collected from four stations in May 2010 of the intertidal zones of Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf, Iran. The results indicate that the highest BSAF values for Cu, Pb and Zn were found in the soft tissue. For Pb, the highest concentrations were obtained in the shell. The correlation results showed that there were correlations between concentrations of Cu and Cd in soft tissues with some fractions in sediment and concentrations of Pb in the shell with some fractions in the sediment. However, it was found that soft tissue of S. cucullata has the potential to be used as a biomonitoring agent for the contamination of Cu and Cd in sediments, as indicated by the high BSAF levels, the lower coefficient of variation (CV) values in soft tissue than in shell, and the significant positive correlation between concentrations of Cu and Cd in the soft tissue of oyster and in the sediment. In contrast, for Pb, higher BSAF values and lower CV values are found in the shell than in the soft tissue, and the significant positive correlation between Pb concentrations in the shell of oyster and sediment can be used as a biomonitoring material.