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Bryan, G.W.,
Langston, W.J. and Hummerstone, L.G. (1980) The
use of biological indicators of heavy metal contamination in estuaries.
Occasional
Publication of the MBA No.1
Abstract
The use of the deposit-feeding molluscs Scrobicularia
plana and Macoma balthica and the burrowing polychaete Nereis
diversicolor as indicators of the biological availability of heavy
metals in sediments has been evaluated. Concentrations of Ag, As, Cd,
Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn and Zn have been measured in organisms
and sediments from more than 30 estuaries in south west England and South
Wales and indicate that the biological availability of most metals varies
by order of magnitude between uncontaminated and contaminated sites.
The results have been compared with those obtained with the use of other
species of indicator organisms in estuaries.
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