Environmental monitoring using biomarkers in relevance to heavy metal pollution in coastal areas of the Gulf of Mannar

Abstract

Marine organisms are vulnerable to harsh environment where fluctuation in physicochemical conditions including salinity and tides are common. These organisms over the period have evolved different mechanisms to maintain the physiological conditions of the body through metabolic activities. In the present work, we studied accumulation of about 10 heavy metals in about 20 marine organisms from the Gulf of Mannar, Southeast coast of India and also explored the passable relationship between distribution of these inorganic metals and biochemical response of these organisms. The effect on the accumulation of metals over the metabolism in the marine animals was evaluated by the level of antioxidant response. Concentration of metal in the body tissues was analyzed using ICP-AES. Interestingly, it was also observed that genotoxic potential pollutants were less or negligible in the selected sites. Tail DNA in the muscle cells was observed to be <5%. Our study concludes that fishes from the two areas are not heavily burdened with metals, but pollutants should be monitored periodically to avoid excessive intake of trace metals by humans due to bioaccumulation. The work concludes that a multiparameter analysis should be followed to study the ecological status of the aquatic environment.