Seasonal variations of arsenic in mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis

• DOI: 10.1007/s10152-004-0188-0
• Publication Date: 2004-08-23T13:13:06Z
• Authors: Sanja Klarić; Dijana Pavičić-Hamer; Čedomil Lucu
• Keywords: Arsenic; Mytilus galloprovincialis; Rijeka Bay; 01 natural sciences; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Total arsenic concentration in the edible part of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis was evaluated seasonally in the coastal area of Rijeka Bay (North Adriatic Sea, Croatia). Sampling stations were located close to the City of Bakar with no industrial facilities (site 1), in the vicinity of oil refinery and oil thermoelectric power plant (Urinj, site 2), and 4 miles away from the Plomin coal thermoelectric power plant (Brseč village, site 3). Additionally, the concentration of arsenic in the tail muscle of the lobster Nephrops norvegicus, collected in Rijeka Bay, was studied. During winter at sites 2 and 3, the total arsenic in the edible part of the mussel was 16.4 mg As/kg FW (FW=fresh weight) and 4.38 mg As/kg FW, respectively, and increased during springtime at site 2 (6.5 mg As/kg FW) compared to the rest of the year, when individual total arsenic concentration at the all sites ranged from 1.7 to 3.7 mg As/kg FW. In the winter (sites 2 and 3) and springtime (site 2) there was no correlation between the length of the mussel shell and the total arsenic concentration in the edible part of the mussels. In the other seasons , at sites 1, 2 and 3, there was a correlation between arsenic in the edible part of mussels and shell length in most cases.The increase of arsenic in the mussels during winter and spring was suggested at least partially as a result of a low nutritional status, i.e reduced weight of the mussels edible part during winter. In addition, a linear relationship was found between body length and arsenic concentration in the tail muscle (mean 17.11 mg As/kg FW) of the Norway lobster.