Accumulation and elimination of Meretrix meretrix to copper

Abstract:

To investigate the capability of accumulation and elimination of Cu2+ in clam，Meretrix meretrix were exposed to different concentrations of Cu2+ for 35 days and then transferred and cultured in the natural seawater for 45d. Copper content in the tissue of M.meretrix was determined and the results showed that mortality and death peak time correlated insignificantly with Cu2+ concentration; the content of copper increased markedly in the 0.025 and 0.05 mg/L treatment group with the highest average accumulation rate of 1.765 mg/kg•d; no correlation was found between the steady-state time and concentration of Cu2+. The elimination experiment showed an obvious decrease in copper content in both 0.025 and 0.05 mg/L treatments, with the highest rate of elimination of 88.7%.According to the two-compartment kinetic model, uptake rate constant (k1), extracting rate constant(k 2) and bioconcentration factor (BCF) firstly increased and then decreased with the increase of Cu2+ in the 0.01,0.025 and 0.05 mg/L treatment group; BCF of copper was relatively small in M.meretrix; the maximal metal contents in test organism(CAmax) at steady-state was positively correlated with Cu2+ concentration in the test solution.