Heavy metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) concentrations were studied in Perna perna from three beaches (Barra do Furado, Buena and Ponta do Retiro) on the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro State by ICP-AES. The average concentration was 0.3 ± 0.04 (Cd); 1.9 ± 0.6 (Cr); 6.1 ± 0.7 (Cu); 1,130 ± 113 (Fe); 22 ± 3.2 (Mn); 9.3 ± 4.6 (Ni); 0.4 ± 0.2 (Pb); 44 ± 5.8 (Zn) µg.g-1 dry weight. There were no significant difference for almost all the studied metals in relation to sex. Although, significant spatial variations (p < 0.05) occurred for Cr, Pb and Ni with higher values for Barra do Furado. Temporal variations were significant (p < 0.05) at the three beaches, however, no trends of accumulation were observed. The metal concentrations were similar to areas under low pollution impact, except for Fe, which was probably due to the local substrates enriched in iron oxides.
Heavy metals; mollusk; spatial variation; temporal variation
