title: A baseline study of metal contamination along the Namibian coastline for Perna perna and Choromytilus meridionalis.
abstract: The use of bivalves such as the brown mussel (Perna perna) and the black mussel (Choromytilus meridionalis) is common in the study of marine pollution and the effect of these pollutants on ecosystems and are important in both economic and ecological roles. Namibian marine ecosystems are threatened by pollution from mining, commercial fishing and population growth. The aims of this study were to determine baseline metal concentrations, spatial variation and variation between species. Metal levels in C. meridionalis from Guano Platform (GP) are the lowest of all the sites. The most polluted sites are Rocky Point (RP), Halifax Island (HIL) and between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund (WS). The bioaccumulation of metals between P. perna and C. meridionalis were not uniform for all metals. Overall the study indicates the condition of the coastline to be mostly normal, with Cd and Pb levels being of concern.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, PO BOX 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dahms
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, PO BOX 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa.
authors.forename: F H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: van der Bank
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, PO BOX 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa. Electronic address: rgreenfield@uj.ac.za.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Greenfield
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D061006:Bays; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005843:Geography; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D049878:Mytilus / Q000187:drug effects*; D009276:Namibia; D049883:Perna / Q000187:drug effects*; D012623:Seawater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances; D008670:Metals; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Bioaccumulation; Bivalves; Heavy metals; ICP-OES; Mussels; Pollution