New record of Mytilus viridis Linn., its density, growth and accumulation of heavy metals on Saurashtra coast, Arabian Sea

The occurrence of green mussel Mytilus viridis was recorded for the first t ime in the Gujarat coast. The assessment of mussel density, growth and biom agnification of heavy metals from its natural beds were performed from Sept ember 1998 to June 1999, The mussel density was maximum both in number and biomass at low tide level and minimum at high tide level. The specific grow th rate of mussel was 13.25 (length), 31.16 (total weight) and 3.38% per mo nth (meat weight) during the study period, Data regarding accumulation of h eavy metals reflected that the metal load was increased with increasing mus sel size and the peak values were observed at an average size of 6.21 mm. T he mean concentration of Cu, Fe, Ph, Cd, Zn, Co, Mn and Hg were 3.91, 9.40, 20.10, 1.53, 37.34, 67.35, 1.01 mu g g(-1) dry wt and non-detectable, resp ectively. Since the mussel showed considerable biomagnification of heavy me tals, it can be used for marine pollution monitoring.