Tolerance, accumulation and depuration in an intertidal gastropod, Turbo intercostalis, exposed to cadmium

Laboratory experiments were carried out to study cadmium (Cd) toxicity in an intertidal gastropod, Turbo intercostalis. Tolerance studies revealed an LC50 of 6.18 ppm for 96 h. Experiments were also conducted to determine oxygen consumption and bioaccumulation of the metal by exposing the snails to a sublethal concentration of Cd (1.24 ppm) for 20 days. A significant fall in oxygen consumption was observed from 48 h onwards with maximum decrease (65.5%) at 20 days. The accumulation of Cd was determined in gonad-digestive gland (GDG) complex, mantle and foot at different intervals. There was a gradual increase in accumulation with exposure time in all tissues. The accumulation of Cd was: GDG complex>mantle>foot. The percentage body burden of the metal showed a decreasing trend in the mantle and an increasing trend in GDG complex. The fractional retention coefficients increased with exposure time. The snails exhibited a tissue-specific depuration of the metal and the trend was similar to that of accumulation. The results suggest that T. intercostalis may be a useful species for biomonitoring studies.