Metal Bioaccumulation of Mytilaster lineatus (Gmelin, 1791) Collected From Sinop Coast in the Southern Black Sea

ABSTRACT Objective: Metal bioaccumulation of the bivalve Mytilaster lineatus, based on different seasons and stations was investigated in Sinop Peninsula of the Black Sea. Soft tissues of mussels from Gazibey Rock and Icliman were taken during the spring and the summer of the year 2016 and were analyzed for Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn. Methods: The soft tissues of the mussels digested with Suprapur® HNO3 (nitric acid) using a Milestone Systems, Start D 260 microwave digestion system. The accuracy and precision of the method was verified by the simultaneous analysis of the certified reference materials NIST 2976 (mussel tissue) for the samples. The Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS), Agilent Technologies, 7700x was used for metal analyses.   Results: Results showed that higher concentrations of almost all metals in Icliman than those in Gazibey Rock.  However, no significant differences were detected between seasons except for both Cu and Zn. The metal amounts of M. lineatus ranged between 0.024-0.035, 0.054-0.072, 0.13-0.25, 0.64-0.85 and 6-20 mg kg-1 wet wt. for Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn, respectively. Conclusions: The measured metals in both sampling areas did not exceed the threshold set by the European Commission and Turkish Food Codex. The results of this study also confirmed the potential of M. lineatus to be used as bio-indicators of heavy metal pollution.