THE UPTAKE OF ZINC FROM ARTIFICIAL, SEDIMENTS BY MYTILUS-EDULIS

The mussel Mytilus edulis (Mollusca: Bivalvia) feeds on suspended matt er filtered from the sea-water by cilia on the gill surfaces. The biva lve will clear the inhalant water of all particles >2-3 mu m including both sediment and organic matter. Marine sediments act as sinks for a variety of pollutants which may be concentrated up to 1000 fold above water levels. In a series of experiments, the uptake of zinc by M. ed ulis from filtered sea-water was compared with that from sea-water con taining particulate matter acting as model sediments. The materials we re two different ion-exchange resins, inorganic granules and hydroxyap atite particles. The accumulation of zinc from the particles was relat ed to the amount of zinc adsorbed by the particles and to their surfac e properties.