Regional and temporal biomonitoring of Lead and Mercury in barnacle's soft tissues and sediment from Imam Khomeini Port during cold and warm seasons

Barnacles proved to be a good choice as a sentinel species for monitoring of heavy metals, also among crustaceans, barnacles appear most able to fulfill the characteristics of ideal biomonitors [ 1].Material and Method In present study the barnacle (Balanus amphitrite; Crustacea: Cirripedia) and sediment werecollected during two seasons (winter and summer of 2008-09). To cover whole wharfs of the port, and to evaluate influences of sailing and other industrial activities on concentration of metals inport environment, five stations were selected throughout the Imam Khomeini port.Sediment and soft tissues of the barnacles were analyzed with ICP-AES set for measuring theconcentrations of lead(Pb)[2] and were analyzed with Zeeman Mercury Analyzer RA-915+ formeasuring the concentrations of Mercury(Hg). Result and discussion The result of variance analysis demonstrated significant differences within metal concentration ofdifferent stations in both sediment and soft tissue of the barnacles. The highest amounts of Hg andPb were found close to the petrochemical industry and ship repairing grounds; while the lowest concentration of Hg were detected in the wharf 28, the place with the least vessels traffic. In summerwith occurrence of low salinity and high temperature, increase in concentration of Pb in soft tissuesof barnacles were detected. There were significant correlation (P <0.01) between concentration of Hg and Pb in soft tissue of B. amphitrite and in sediment.Conclusion Comparison of present study with international standards and other studies indicates high pollutionof mercury in this region. Nevertheless, the concentrations lead in soft tissue of barnacles were lower than WHO’s standard[3]. Present study is the first attempt in Iran to use barnacles as abiomonitor species in evaluation of metal pollution. However, the results show that this species is a suitable organism for this affair in Iranian coasts.

Keywords:

Balanus amphitrite , Imam Khomeini port , Lead , Mercury , ICP-AES