Seasonal Variation of Heavy Metals in the Bivalves of a Major Fish Landing Centre in Mumbai

One of the most prevalent environmental contaminants found in aquatic ecosystems and its associated biota is considered to be heavy metals. The current study evaluated the heavy metal concentrations of Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Cadmium (Cd), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), Arsenic (As), Nickel (Ni), and Lead (Pd) in the soft tissues of M.casta and Paphia malabarica species seasonally for one year. The soft tissue of the two species were digested using a microwave digestion system (CEM-MARS-5) using nitric acid and perchloric acid. Evaluation of Cu, Ni, Cr, Mn, Co, Fe, and Zn was done using ICP-OES while for estimation of Pd, Cd and As, ICP-MS was used.  During the study, Fe, Mn and Zn content dominated the whole soft tissues of both species. The findings demonstrated that the pre-monsoon season had higher amounts of the most examined heavy metals, whereas the monsoon season had the lowest quantities of these metals in the soft tissues of both species.