Concentration of some heavy metals in the soft tissues and shell of the sea snail Osilinus turbinatus in the rocky beaches of Misrata, Libya

Abstract

Concentrations of heavy metals; Fe, Pb, Cu, Cd, and Zn were determined in soft tissue and shell of marine sail Osilinus turbinatus in rocky shore in Misurata, Libya. The specimens were collected manually, from Alramla and Alghawait region in Gaser Ahmed area. The distance between these two regions is about 30 Km. The concentration of Fe, Pb, Cu, Cd and Zn in soft tissues was 10.09±3.4 µg/g, 0.51±0.22, o.48±0.12, 0.12±0.05, 1.73±0.51 respectively, while in the shell was 2.34±0.51 µg/g, 1.91±0.42, 0.17±0.04, 0.31±0.04, 0.99±0.42 respectively. The difference between the concentrations of all studied heavy metals except Zn in soft tissue and shell was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The difference in concentration of Zn soft tissue and shell in Alghawait region in Gaser Ahmed area was not significant (P = 0.14). The concentration of essential heavy metals (Fe, Zn and Cu) in the soft tissues were higher than that in the shell while the concentration of other heavy metals (Pb and Cd) were higher in the shell than in the soft tissues. The concentration trend of heavy metals in soft tissues was; Fe>Zn>Pb>Cu>Cd while in the shell was Fe>Pb>Zn>Cd>Cu