RESEARCH ARTICLE
Seasonal distribution of cadmium, lead, nickel, and magnesium
in several tissues of mussels from the Algerian coasts
Khaled Abderrahmani
1,2 & Mostefa Boulahdid
1 & Naima Bendou
3 & Amel Aissani
3
Received: 2 January 2020 / Accepted: 30 March 2020
# Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the distribution of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, and Mn) in different organs of two marine mussel
species, Perna perna collected from Figuier site and Mytilus galloprovincialis sampled from Sercouf and Algiers port sites of the
Algerian coast. Thirty individuals (>5 cm length) were seasonally sampled over a 1-year period from each site, and condition
index (CI) and gonado somatic index (GSI) of mussels were calculated. The gill, digestive gland, rest of soft tissues, and gonad
were accurately isolated and heavy metal contents were analyzed by ICP-MS. Heavy metal results, expressed on μg/g dry weight,
ranged from 0.1 to 2.6 Cd, 0.1 to 17.15 Pb, 0.36 to 25.7 Ni, and 3.68 to 74.76 Mn. Thus, typical distribution of studied metals in
various organs of mussels was found. In fact, the digestive gland followed by gill revealed significantly high metal concentrations. However, gonad showed low heavy metal contents. Different patterns of heavy metal distribution in various organs of
mussels were found at the three sampling sites. High levels of Cd, Pb, Ni, and Mn were detected in mussels of Sercouf, Algiers
port, and Figuier sites, respectively. According to the Algerian and European norms, mussels collected from all sites were healthy
except those of Algiers port sampled in autumn and winter seasons where lead contamination was found.
Keywords Heavy metals . Distribution . Mussels . Organs . Bioaccumulation . Algerian central coast
Introduction
In recent years, the marine environment received considerable
amounts of pollutants, due to the technological development of
the industry sector (UNEP 1993; Airas 2003; Aarabe, 2004) in
order to cover the growing demand of different fields.
Contaminants reaching the sea from various sources may affect
aquatic plants and animals (Spada et al. 2013; Remili and
Kerfouf, 2013; Rouane-Hacene 2013). Human beings are not
sheltered from these impacts of consuming and exploiting different marine resources. There are several methods to study and
evaluate the environmental health of marine biotope in their
different compartments such as water and sediment. However,
the use of marine organisms for environment study provides us
more information on the availability and the contamination level of pollutants in the body (Geffard 2001; Jitar et al. 2013).
Mussels are highly recommended in programs and networks for monitoring the marine environmental quality
(Mussel Watch, RNO, RINBIO…, etc.) due to their ability
to filter large volumes of water and accumulate several contaminants present in the environment (Stewart, 1999;
Stankovic et al. 2012; Li et al. 2015, Azizi et al. 2018; Firth
et al. 2019). In addition, they are characterized by a wide
geographical distribution, representativity in the studied ecosystem and their ease of sampling. These benefits have qualified them as an excellent bio indicator of marine ecosystem
health (Viarengo and Canesi 1991; Vlahogianni et al. 2007;
Stankovic et al. 2012; Spada et al. 2013).
Heavy metals, mainly introduced in the environment by
anthropogenic (human-made) sources, are divided into two
groups: (a) essential (Cu, Mn, Zn, Fe, etc.) and nonResponsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues
* Khaled Abderrahmani
khaled_abderrahmani@yahoo.fr
1
Laboratoire des Écosystèmes Marins et Littoraux (ECOSYSMarL),
Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences de la Mer et de
l’Aménagement du Littoral (ENSSMAL), BP19, Campus
Universitaire de Dely Ibrahim, Bois des Cars, 16320 Alger, Algeria
2
Centre National de Recherche et de Développement de la Pêche et
d’Aquaculture (CNRDPA), 11 Bd Colonel Amirouche, PO Box 67,
42415 Bou-Ismaïl, Tipaza, Algeria
3
Division Technologies et Développement (ex CRD) of
SONATRACH, Avenue 1er novembre 1954,
35000 Boumerdès, Boumerdès, Algeria
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08682-8
Seasonal distribution of cadmium, lead, nickel, and magnesium
in several tissues of mussels from the Algerian coasts
Khaled Abderrahmani
1,2 & Mostefa Boulahdid
1 & Naima Bendou
3 & Amel Aissani
3
Received: 2 January 2020 / Accepted: 30 March 2020
# Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the distribution of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Ni, and Mn) in different organs of two marine mussel
species, Perna perna collected from Figuier site and Mytilus galloprovincialis sampled from Sercouf and Algiers port sites of the
Algerian coast. Thirty individuals (>5 cm length) were seasonally sampled over a 1-year period from each site, and condition
index (CI) and gonado somatic index (GSI) of mussels were calculated. The gill, digestive gland, rest of soft tissues, and gonad
were accurately isolated and heavy metal contents were analyzed by ICP-MS. Heavy metal results, expressed on μg/g dry weight,
ranged from 0.1 to 2.6 Cd, 0.1 to 17.15 Pb, 0.36 to 25.7 Ni, and 3.68 to 74.76 Mn. Thus, typical distribution of studied metals in
various organs of mussels was found. In fact, the digestive gland followed by gill revealed significantly high metal concentrations. However, gonad showed low heavy metal contents. Different patterns of heavy metal distribution in various organs of
mussels were found at the three sampling sites. High levels of Cd, Pb, Ni, and Mn were detected in mussels of Sercouf, Algiers
port, and Figuier sites, respectively. According to the Algerian and European norms, mussels collected from all sites were healthy
except those of Algiers port sampled in autumn and winter seasons where lead contamination was found.
Keywords Heavy metals . Distribution . Mussels . Organs . Bioaccumulation . Algerian central coast
Introduction
In recent years, the marine environment received considerable
amounts of pollutants, due to the technological development of
the industry sector (UNEP 1993; Airas 2003; Aarabe, 2004) in
order to cover the growing demand of different fields.
Contaminants reaching the sea from various sources may affect
aquatic plants and animals (Spada et al. 2013; Remili and
Kerfouf, 2013; Rouane-Hacene 2013). Human beings are not
sheltered from these impacts of consuming and exploiting different marine resources. There are several methods to study and
evaluate the environmental health of marine biotope in their
different compartments such as water and sediment. However,
the use of marine organisms for environment study provides us
more information on the availability and the contamination level of pollutants in the body (Geffard 2001; Jitar et al. 2013).
Mussels are highly recommended in programs and networks for monitoring the marine environmental quality
(Mussel Watch, RNO, RINBIO…, etc.) due to their ability
to filter large volumes of water and accumulate several contaminants present in the environment (Stewart, 1999;
Stankovic et al. 2012; Li et al. 2015, Azizi et al. 2018; Firth
et al. 2019). In addition, they are characterized by a wide
geographical distribution, representativity in the studied ecosystem and their ease of sampling. These benefits have qualified them as an excellent bio indicator of marine ecosystem
health (Viarengo and Canesi 1991; Vlahogianni et al. 2007;
Stankovic et al. 2012; Spada et al. 2013).
Heavy metals, mainly introduced in the environment by
anthropogenic (human-made) sources, are divided into two
groups: (a) essential (Cu, Mn, Zn, Fe, etc.) and nonResponsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues
* Khaled Abderrahmani
khaled_abderrahmani@yahoo.fr
1
Laboratoire des Écosystèmes Marins et Littoraux (ECOSYSMarL),
Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences de la Mer et de
l’Aménagement du Littoral (ENSSMAL), BP19, Campus
Universitaire de Dely Ibrahim, Bois des Cars, 16320 Alger, Algeria
2
Centre National de Recherche et de Développement de la Pêche et
d’Aquaculture (CNRDPA), 11 Bd Colonel Amirouche, PO Box 67,
42415 Bou-Ismaïl, Tipaza, Algeria
3
Division Technologies et Développement (ex CRD) of
SONATRACH, Avenue 1er novembre 1954,
35000 Boumerdès, Boumerdès, Algeria
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08682-8