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Experimental study on copper uptake capacity in the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 23, pages 10983–10989 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

To investigate the effect of different sizes, sex, and exposure time on Cu uptake capacity, mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis of different shell sizes were exposed to different Cu concentrations in different aquariums. In another experiment, mussels were exposed to stable dissolved Cu for 6 days in the laboratory. All mussels tissue concentrations were analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometry. At the end of uptake, the rate of increase of Cu level in the soft tissues of mussels in different aquariums was 3.84–7.92 times higher than before exposure. While the results of Cu concentrations were negatively correlated with the shell sizes in the control and second groups (r control = −0.862, r second = −0.851 p < 0.05), this relation was not observed in the other groups (p > 0.05). Also, results showed no significant difference between male and female (p > 0.05). On the other hand, Cu concentration values in soft tissue were monitored daily and observed to be increasing up to the third day but afterwards to be descending, thus indicating a significant effect of the exposure time-related Cu uptake by mussels. Therefore, the exposure time to Cu metal of the mussel should be taken into account in the marine pollution investigations. In addition, by using the obtained Cu heavy metal concentration results, the heavy metal intake by the human population was calculated by taking into account daily mussel consumption. The results were examined for potential human health risks and discussed. These results would be helpful to understand factors controlling Cu accumulation in mussels.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (ÇAYDAG, Project No: 113Y148)

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, 53100, Rize, Turkey

    H. Baltas, E. Y. Bayrak & M. Sirin

  2. Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, 53100, Rize, Turkey

    G. Dalgic

  3. Department of Physics, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080, Trabzon, Turkey

    U. Cevik & G. Apaydin

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  1. H. Baltas
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  2. G. Dalgic
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  3. E. Y. Bayrak
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  4. M. Sirin
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  5. U. Cevik
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  6. G. Apaydin
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Correspondence to H. Baltas.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Baltas, H., Dalgic, G., Bayrak, E.Y. et al. Experimental study on copper uptake capacity in the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis). Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 10983–10989 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6306-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6306-0

Keywords

  • Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis)
  • Uptake
  • Exposure time
  • Copper
  • EDXRF analysis