Heavy metal accumulation in the periwinkle Littorina littorea, along a pollution gradient in the Scheldt estuary

Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrophotometry (ICP-AES) was used to determine heavy metal concentrations in the shells and soft tissues of the periwinkle Littorina littorea, collected at seven sites along the Scheldt estuary. Several metals accumulate in the animals soft body parts, and are related to the seawards decreasing pollution gradient. No clear correlation with a previously detected shell size patterning could be established. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.