The use of the mangrove oyster (Crossostrea gasar) as a bio-indicator for chemical element contamination in the Niger Delta

Abstract

The study evaluated the concentrations of some chemical elements namely Copper (Cu), Manganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni) and Lead (Pb) in the mangrove oyster (Crossostrea gasar) and water from Golubo creek in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, to ascertain the impact of these metals on the investigated ecosystem. The evaluation was carried out using Atomic Absorption spectroscopy technique. The mean concentrations of the aforementioned elements in C.gasar were 1.06 mg/kg, 0.38 mg/kg, 50.13 mg/kg, 0.14 mg/kg, 0.39 mg/kg and 1.55 mg/kg, respectively while the mean concentrations of the elements in water were 0.65 mg/l, 0.04 mg/l, 16.47 mg/l, 0.86 mg/l, 0.85 mg/l and 1.50 mg/l, respectively. Copper, Manganese, Zinc and Lead were bioaccumulated by C.gasar while the estimated daily intake of these elements ranged from 0.0056 mg/person/day for Chromium to 2.01 mg/person/day for Zinc. The Maximum Acceptable Risk values for Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Chromium, Nickel and...