Trends in concentrations of selected metalloid and metals in two bivalves from the coral reefs in the SW lagoon of New Caledonia

Laetitia Hédouin (1, 2, 3) , Paco Bustamante (1) , Carine Churlaud (4) , O. Pringault (5) , Renaud Fichez (3, 6) , Michel Warnau (1, 2)

1 LIENSs - LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés
2 IAEA-MEL - Marine Environment Laboratories [Monaco]
3 CAMELIA - Caractérisation et modélisation des échanges dans des lagons soumis aux influences terrigènes et anthropiques
4 CCA - Centre Commun d'Analyses
5 UR 103 Camélia
6 COM - Centre d'océanologie de Marseille

The concentrations of 9 elements (Ag, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn) were measured in the oyster Isognomon isognomon and the edible clam Gafrarium tumidum from different sites along the SW New Caledonian coast which is subjected to important chemical inputs due to intense land-based mining activities (New Caledonia is the third world producer of nickel). Results indicate that concentrations in the two organisms mirrored the geographical differences in contamination levels as established through element analyses in sediment. On the basis of organism analyses, two out of the seven investigated stations can be considered as relative “reference” sites, except for As, for which very high levels were detected in clam and oyster tissues (up to 441 μg g-1 dry wt for clams). Overall, our results indicate that both tropical organisms investigated could be used as valuable bioindicator species for surveying metal contamination in the coastal waters of New Caledonia with reasonable perspectives of wider application to other coral reef environments.

Mots clés: Tropical Environment; Metals; Bioindicators; Mining activities

Domaines: Ecotoxicologie

Laetitia Hédouin, Paco Bustamante, Carine Churlaud, O. Pringault, Renaud Fichez, et al.. Trends in concentrations of selected metalloid and metals in two bivalves from the coral reefs in the SW lagoon of New Caledonia. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2009, 72 (2), pp.372- 381. ⟨10.1016/j.ecoenv.2008.04.004⟩. ⟨hal-00336151⟩