Seasonal Variations of Some Heavy Metals in Seawater and Soft Tissues of the Bivalve Brachidontes pharaonis from the Gulf of Suez, Egypt

Levels of some heavy metal ions were determined in water samples of marine mussels Brachidontes pharaonis collected fromtheshoreline of the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), the Gulf of Suez, Egypt, during the period from June 2019 to May 2020.The objective of the present study was to analyze the seasonal concentrations ofsome heavy metals (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Mn, and Cd) that have environmental and health interests in the Gulf of Suez using the bivalve Brachidontes pharaonis (Fischer, 1876) as a biological monitor. The samples were collected seasonally from the site and divided into three size groups. The analyses for the detection of the selected metal concentrations were carried out by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results showed that the mean concentrations of heavy metals in water were 0.07, 0.64, 0.71, 4.66, 0.26, 0.08, 12.40, 0.07μg/ L for Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Fe, and Mn, respectively. With regards to assessed metals in the soft tissues, an inverse relationship was found between metal concentration and bivalve size. According to the collected data, the present study area was varied between low to moderate contamination. This change occurred in conjunction with the increase of industrial activities around the study area.