Abstract
The relationship between gonadal development and the concentrations of four heavy metals Mn, Zn, Fe and Hg in the tissues of the clam Galatea paradoxa was evaluated at the Volta estuary, Ghana, over an 18-month period. Metal concentrations in the clam tissues were highly variable over the sampling period and seemed to be influenced by the reproductive cycle of the clam. Mn concentrations varied over a wide range from 49 to 867 μg/g and exhibited a significant positive correlation with gonadal development (p = 0.0146, r2 = 0.3190). Zn and Fe concentrations ranged from 13 to 59 μg/g and 79 to 484 μg/g, respectively and both revealed negative relationships between gonad development and metal accumulation (Zn (p = 0.0554, r2 = 0.0554) and Fe (p = 0.1040, r2 = 0.1567)). Hg concentrations ranged from 0.026 to 0.059 μg/g over the sampling period and exhibited a slight positive relationship between gonadal development and metal accumulation (p = 0.0861, r2 = 0.1730).
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the International Foundation for Science (IFS) for providing financial support (A/4421-1) to conduct this research work and the Department of Fisheries and Watershed Management of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi for logistical support.
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Adjei-Boateng, D., Obirikorang, K.A., Amisah, S. et al. Relationship Between Gonad Maturation and Heavy Metal Accumulation in the Clam, Galatea paradoxa (Born 1778) from the Volta Estuary, Ghana. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 87, 626–632 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-011-0417-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-011-0417-6