Changes of Metal Concentrations in Soft Tissues
of Tridacnas with the Age of the Mollusks

N. K. Khristoforova¹, E. N. Chernova¹, and N. I. Selin²

¹Pacific Institute of Geography, Far East Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

²Institute of Marine Biology, Far East Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia

Received September 27, 2000; in final form, May 10, 2001

Abstract—The contents of metals in the individuals of the Tridacna crocea bivalve of various sizes and ages
from the open part of the South China Sea were studied. It was shown that, with the growth of the tridacnas, the
concentrations of iron, copper, zinc, and chromium in their soft tissues decrease, while that of nickel increases.
The concentrations of manganese, cadmium, and lead are subjected to pronounced variations, with their aver-
age values being invariable during the ontogenesis. The growth of the nickel concentration in the bivalve tissues
and the variations of the levels of manganese and cadmium contents are supposed to be related to the activity
of zooxanthellae—symbiont algae of tridacnas—and to their contribution to the contents of metals in the tissues
of the host organism.

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