Assessment of Heavy Metals Pollution Using Sediments and Bivalve Brachidontes variabilis as Bioindicator in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt

The present work aimed to assess the quality of the coastal area of the Gulf of Suez by using sediments and bivalve Brachidontes variabilis to monitor heavy metal ions (Cd(II), Pb(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II)) at different stations along the western side of the gulf. The samples were collected twice per year (summer and winter) from seven stations representing different pollution sources. The concentration of studied heavy metal ions were determined using flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results showed that the heavy metal ions levels ranging from 1.34-2.60, 5.74-51.12, 3.37-57.91 and 14.69-95.96 µg/g (sediments) and 0.18-0.56, 0.53-2.54, 2.11-4.38 and 8.12-17.04 µg/g (B. variabilis) for Cd(II), Pb(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions, respectively. In summer season, the high values of the most studied metals were showed, with significant difference (p < 0.05) for Pb only. The indices such as contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI) and metal pollution index (MPI) were estimated in sediments and bivalve species to assess the degree of contamination from heavy metals at the different investigated stations. The obtained data indicated that the present study area was varied between low and moderate contamination with progressive decline in the quality of the investigated sites.