Accumulation of Cadmium, Copper, Lead and Zinc in the Pacific Oyster, Crassostrea gigas, Collected from the Pearl River Estuary, Southern China

摘要

Oysters are marine bivalve mollusks, which feed on phy-toplankton and detrital organic matter by filtering the seawater through their gills. During the filter-feeding activity, pollutants in the water may enter their body through the gills and associate with the detritus indirectly through the digestive tract. Oysters have been used as bi-omonitors of pollutants in coastal environments because they are very common in most coastal ecosystems, sessile, sufficiently long living, and can accumulate pollutants to high levels without affecting their survival (Presley et al., 1990; Rainbow, 1995).