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84922

HEALTH STATUS OF DATE MUSSEL "<i>LITHOPHAGA LITHOPHAGA</i>, FAMILY: MYTILIDAE" IN ALEXANDERIA, EGYPT: POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF THE HEAVY METAL POLLUTION

Article

Last updated: 22 Jan 2023

Subjects

-

Tags

Fresh Water and Marine Biology

Abstract

The date mussels (Lithophaga lithophaga) are rock-boring bivalve molluscs that are generally used as bio-indicators for pollution. They can accumulate pollutants in their tissues, due to their filter feeding behaviour. Therefore, the current study aimed to use the date mussels to evaluate the heavy metal pollution in three coastal areas of Alexandria (Abo Qir, Alasafra, and Miami) during the four seasons to determine the most polluted area. The current study also aimed to evaluate the health status and disease burden of the date mussels collected from the most polluted area according to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) manual. The results indicated that Pb, Cd, and Cu increased significantly in seawater of Abo Qir area during summer, and was correlated with their accumulation in the mussel tissues. As a consequence of pollution, a significant decrease in the amount of dissolved oxygen was observed in the seawater of Abo Qir area during summer. The pathological examination of samples from Abo Qir area using OIE manual showed that the mussels had signs of weakness from the outer shell examination as gaping, fragility, discolouration, and fouling. Moreover, infection with ciliates was observed in the date mussel tissues collected from the most polluted area. Interestingly, abnormal case of disseminated neoplasia or sarcoma also appeared under the effect of pollution. In conclusion, Abo Qir is the most polluted area with low dissolved oxygen concentration during summer. Moreover, accumulation of heavy metals in the soft parts of the date mussels could increase their disease susceptibility.

DOI

10.21608/ejz.2020.25041.1022

Keywords

Bivalve molluscs, Heavy metals, <i>Lithophaga lithophaga</i>, Pathology, Seawater pollution

Authors

First Name

Wesam

Last Name

Salama

MiddleName

M.

Affiliation

Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta university, Gharbia, Egypt

Email

wesam.salama2010@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0002-3291-5681

First Name

Mohamed

Last Name

Mona

MiddleName

H.

Affiliation

Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Gharbia, Egypt

Email

monamm3@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Aml

Last Name

Ghoneium

MiddleName

Z.

Affiliation

Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Damanhour University, Beheira, Egypt

Email

aa.fatoma@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

73

Article Issue

73

Related Issue

14594

Issue Date

2020-06-01

Receive Date

2020-03-29

Publish Date

2020-06-01

Page Start

26

Page End

38

Print ISSN

1110-6344

Online ISSN

2682-3160

Link

https://ejz.journals.ekb.eg/article_84922.html

Detail API

https://ejz.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=84922

Order

3

Type

Original Research Papers

Type Code

684

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Zoology

Publication Link

https://ejz.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

-

Details

Type

Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023