New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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The use of molluscs for monitoring trace elements in the marine environment in New Zealand 1. The contribution of ingested sediment to the trace element concentrations in New Zealand molluscs

PAUL C. KENNEDY*

Department of Botany Victoria University of Wellington Private Bag, Wellington New Zealand

Abstract Reference elements, such as silicon, were used to calculate the effect of sediment in the gut contents of molluscs on the estimation of the total body burden of trace elements. A significant proportion of the aluminium, iron, manganese, and lead are contributed by the sediment in the gut of many New Zealand mollusc species. Local mineralisation is likely to produce an important contribution for elements such as chromium, vanadium, and nickel in some areas of New Zealand and the ingested sediment in molluscs from "clean" environments will result in the real body burden of some elements such as lead being naturally lower than the available data suggests.

Keywords molluscs; trace elements; sediment; marine environment; gut contents

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1986, Vol. 20: 627-640 Received 15 October 1985; accepted 14 April 1986

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (1038K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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