Environmental pre-disposition of Organisms to Contaminants with references to Heavy Metals Residues in the Brackish and Marines Gastropods

Research Article

Environmental pre-disposition of Organisms to Contaminants with references to Heavy Metals Residues in the Brackish and Marines Gastropods

Ikpesu, Thomas Ohwofasa, Ogbomida Emmanuel Temiotan

Corresponding Author : Ikpesu T.O.

Department of Biology Federal University Otuoke, Nigeria,

Email ID : ikpesuto@fuotuoke.edu.ng

Received : 2017-04-12 Accepted : 2017-05-22 Published : 2017-05-22

Abstract : Environmental influences on organisms were studied on most common mollusks in the mangrove swamp and lower intertidal zone of Atlantic Ocean, Nigeria. Samples were collected between January and December, 2016. Five samples each of common whelk and Littorina littorea of relatively equal size and weight were collected at night from different stations and transported to the laboratory in a well ventilated container. Heavy metals in the tissues were digested with 5mL of HNO3 and 3mL of concentrated hydrochloric acid in 5:1 ratio and analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Marine environment had higher metals residue than the brackish water in both organisms and both seasons. The order of accumulation of metals in the soft tissues of L.littorea and B.undatum from both sampling environments were; Fe > Zn >Mn >Pb > Cd. The concentrations of heavy metals in the soft tissues of L.littorea and B.undatum revealed that, the geochemical composition had great effects on metal accumulation, with Fe, the most dominant elements in the Earth’s Crust, having the highest concentrations. Cadmium the least metal reported in this study has no known biological functions. The adverse human health effects associated with exposure to heavy metals, even at low concentrations are diverse, hence the needs for thorough investigation of the water qualities in this region to ascertain the degree of the toxicity of heavy metals pollution and the response of the environment.

Keywords : Metals, Mangrove swamp, Ocean, Common whelk, Littorina littorea

Citation : Ikpesu, T.O., et al. (2017). Environmental pre-disposition of Organisms to Contaminants with references to Heavy Metals Residues in the Brackish and Marines Gastropods, J. of Advanced Botany and Zoology. V5I103. DOI : 10.5281/zenodo.918361

Copyright : © 2017 Ikpesu, T.O., This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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