Biomonitoring of heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Cd and Cr) in oysters: Crassostrea rhizophorae of mangrove areas of Alagoas (Brazil)

Abstract

Mangroves are tropical and subtropical flooded forests that generally develop in estuarine areas over unstable sediments protected from the action of waves in the intertidal zone with an environment characterized by a great diversity of fauna and flora. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the levels of heavy metals that are absorbed by mangrove oysters, in estuarine systems in the Alagoas coast by determining the concentrations of Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Cd and Cr. Two areas, which consisted of both a collection during the rainy season and the dry season, were selected for sampling of mangrove oysters. In each collection, seven samples were collected, at seven different points, where each sample contained four oysters. In the laboratory the oysters were dried at 105°C for 72 hours and then macerated. It was then digested with 10 ml of a solution comprising a combination of 4:1 nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, initially in 1h at 40°C, followed by 3 hours at 140°C. In General, the medians followed the order Zn > Fe > Mn > Cu > Cr > Cd in MMELC and Zn > Cu > Fe > Mn > Cr > Cd in Meirim River. It is concluded that the Crassostrea rhizophorae oysters from the studied environments presented concentrations of all the metals proposed in the research and demonstrates its accumulating and bioindicator character.