Impact of Mining Activities: Concentration of Heavy Metals (As, Cd, Cu, Ni) in Three Filter Feeder Species in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract Mining activities in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, are increasing daily. This inevitably leads to heavy metal pollution in coastal areas. This study aimed to determine the concentration of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Ni) in three filter-feeder species: Dendostrea folium, Gafrarium pectinatum, Isognomon ephipium in two stations: Waturrambaha (high nickel mining activity) and Tanjung Tiram (no mining activity) in south-east Sulawesi, Indonesia. Sampling was carried out in January 2023 and metal concentrations were measured by ICP-OES and ICP-MS. The results show that D. folium can strongly accumulate copper and cadmium, while G. pectinatum and I.ephipium can strongly accumulate nickel. Sediments from the Waturambaha station have higher concentrations for all metals than those from the Tanjung Tiram station. Whatever the species and the stations, the results of the BSAF calculation show differential accumulation capacities between the metals considered, from cadmium, the most accumulated, to arsenic, the least accumulated, with copper showing intermediate accumulations. The three species do not accumulate nickel well but regulate it effectively for these very high environmental concentrations. While significant differences are highlighted between the two stations, the three species can still be used as bioindicators despite their different bioconcentration capacities to different metals and a certain capacity for nickel regulation at very high environmental concentrations.