MORE THAN 15 YEARS OF CHANGE IN HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION IN OYSTER AND CORAL TISSUE FROM KANEOHE BAY, HI

Health of an aquatic ecosystem can be measured by determining heavy metal concentrations in both the sediments and biomass of key species. Entering the system via runoff, heavy metals have a significant detrimental effect on the overall ecosystem. Heavy metals can interfere with normal life processes, and in high enough quantities, result in death. Adult oysters and corals are benthic, stationary organisms that obtain nutrients through filter feeding, making them ideal for studying heavy metal accumulation. Therefore, the level of metals present in their tissues are indicative of heavy metals in the environment where they are found. All samples were acid digested and the concentration of heavy metals was determined with an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer. To assess more than 15 years of change in Kaneohe Bay, we compared the concentration of heavy metals in oysters between 1991 and 2017, and corals between 2002 and 2017. We expect an increase in heavy metal concentration through time in both corals and oysters associated with increased development in Kaneohe, HI and higher concentrations of heavy metals in coral host compared to symbiont tissue because more lipids are stored in the host compared to the symbiont in corals. Altogether these findings serve as an environmental health assessment of Kaneohe Bay.