Can the byssus of green-lipped mussel Perna viridis (Linnaeus) from the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia be a biomonitoring organ for Cd, Pb and Zn? Field and laboratory studies.

Concentrations of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) in total soft tissues (ST) and byssus (BYS) of the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis from 11 different geographical locations off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia were determined. The metal concentrations distributed between the BYS and ST were compared. The results of this study indicated that higher levels of Cd (1.31 microg/g), Pb (38.49 microg/g) and Zn (206.52 microg/g) were accumulated in the BYS than in the total ST (Cd: 0.29 microg/g; Pb: 8.27 microg/g; Zn: 102.6 microg/g). Semi-static and short period controlled laboratory experiments were also conducted for the accumulation and depuration of Cd, Pb and Zn in the total ST and BYS of P. viridis. The ratios (BYS/ST) for Pb and Cd from the laboratory experiments showed that the total ST accumulated more metals than the BYS. Therefore, these laboratory results disagreed with those found for the field samples. However, the laboratory results for the Zn ratio (BYS/ST) agreed with those of the field samples. It was evident that when compared to the ST, the BYS was a more sensitive biomonitoring organ for Zn while it could be a complementary organ for Cd and Pb in the total ST. Since total ST of P. viridis had been reported to have regulative mechanism for Zn, its BYS can be used as a biomonitoring organ for the identification of coastal areas exposed to Zn pollution.