Abstract

GUTIERREZ GALINDO, Efraín Abraham; PEREZ RODRIGUEZ, Juan Carlos  and  MUNOZ BARBOSA, Albino. Cadmium, Copper and Zinc in the mussel Mytilus californianus (Conrad 1837) from the west coast of Baja California. Rev. Int. Contam. Ambient [online]. 2014, vol.30, n.3, pp.285-295. ISSN 0188-4999.

Spatial distributions of the concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Zn in tissue of the mussel Mytilus californianus and its use as biomonitor of metals were studied in the west coast of Baja California, Mexico. Mussels were collected from seven sampling sites along 600 km of the coastline, from the Mexico-EUA border to the northern limit of the San Sebastian Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve, in Baja California Sur. The highest concentrations of Cu and Zn (6.8 μg/g and 77.0 μg/g dry weight) were found in San Quintín. These could be the result of the use of fertilizers in a large agriculture zone nearby. On the other hand, the highest Cd concentration was found in Eréndira (16.6 μg/g). Based on the cadmium biogeochemistry of this region, upwelling could constitute the most important Cd source, even over the anthropic sources. The correlations between concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Zn and those normalized by the organisms' condition index (r = 0.90, r = 0.86, and r = 0.57, respectively), suggest that environmental Cd and Cu levels are better reflected by Mytilus californianus than Zn levels. However, copper results must be taken with caution. All Cd concentrations found in this study exceeded the maximum permissible limits recommended by the World Health Organization and the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Keywords : mussels; coastal biomonitor; heavy metals.

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