The burrow crab Neohelice granulata as potential bioindicator of heavy metals in estuarine systems of the Atlantic coast of Argentina

ORNELA BELTRAME,; SILVIA DE MARCO,; JORGE MARCOVECCHIO

Environmental Monitoring & Assessment

Springer

Lugar: Heidelberg; Año: 2011 vol. 172 p. 379 - 389

1573-2959

This paper presents the concentrations of total copper, lead, cadmium, and zinc in hepatopancreas of the burrowing crab Neohelice granulata from the Samborombón Bay (La Plata River estuary) and the Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon, Argentina. The highest accumulation of lead was observed in Mar Chiquita samples,whereas copper, zinc, and cadmium concentrations were higher in those from Samborombón Bay. Marked temporal and geographic availability differences were observed, while sexual differences only were observed for zinc. Finally, the validity of using this species as bioindicator of heavy-metal pollution within the assessed estuarine ecosystems is discussed.