Heavy metals in Balanus amphitrite and Tetraclita squamosa (Crustacea: Cirripedia) collected from the coastal waters of Xiamen, China

Samples of the barnacles Balanus amphitrite and Tetraclita squamosa were collected from the coastal waters of Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, during May 1996. Barnacles were analysed for cadmium, copper, iron, manganese and zinc using Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectrophotometry. Comparative statistical analyses have allowed intraspecific comparisons of metal levels. One site in particular, Effluent Outfall, showed elevated levels of copper (2204 μg g−1) and zinc (10 000 μg g−1). Results from the present study have been compared with those obtained from Xiamen in 1991 and from Hong Kongʹs coastal waters between 1986 and 1996. Lower cadmium levels were measured in the present study as compared to 1991 whereas copper and zinc levels were similar between 1991 and 1996, except at the Effluent Outfall site where great increases in bioavailability were recorded. Accumulated body burdens of all metals were similar to those measured from Victoria Harbour in the 1980s and Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong, in the 1990s.