Eco. Env. & Cons. 19 (1) : 2013; pp. (27-31) Copyright@ EM International ISSN 0971–765X *Corresponding author : E-mail: yapckong@hotmail.com Accumulation of trace metals in mussel Perna viridis transplanted from a relatively unpolluted site at kg. Sg. melayu to a polluted site at kg. Pasir Puteh and to an unpolluted site at Sg belungkor in the straits of Johore, Iran Y.J. Eugene NG 1 , C.K. Yap* 1 , M.P. Zakaria 2 , A.Z. Aris 2 and S.G. Tan 3 1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, 2 Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Studies, 3 Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. ABSTRACT In this study, the green-lipped mussels Perna viridis were transplanted from a relatively unpolluted site at Kg. Sg Melayu (KSM) to a known polluted site at Kg Pasir Puteh (KPP) and an unpolluted site at Sg. Belungkor (SB). Total soft tissues of mussels were determined for Ag, As, Be, Co, Cr, Cs, Hg, Li, Mn, Se, Sr and V by using an Inductively Coupled Plasma-mass Spectrometer. After transplantation periods (2 and 6 weeks) to KPP, concentrations of As, Co, Cr, Hg, Li, Be, V, Cs, Mn and Sr increased but the concentrations of Ag and Se decreased after transplantation of 2 and 6 weeks. This indicated that KPP is almost confirmed as having the highest bioavailabilities of the above 10 metals than KSM and SB. However, the higher levels of Ag and Se found in the transplanted mussels at KSM should be investigated in future studies. After transplantation periods (2 and 6 weeks) to SB, concentrations of Co, Cr, Hg, Be, V, Cs, Se, Mn and Sr decreased but the concentrations of Ag and Li increased after transplantation of 2 and 6 weeks. This veri- fied that SB is suitable coastal water for depuration of Co, Cr, Hg, Be, V, Cs, Se, Mn and Sr. However, higher levels of Ag and Li at SB than KSM could be attributed to unknown pollution source in the surrounding area which should merit further studies. Key words : Transplantation, Mussels, Trace metals. Introduction The green-lipped mussel Perna viridis has been widely studied for its suitability as a good biomonitor in Malaysia (Yap et al ., 2002a, 2002b, 2003a, 2003b, 2004, 2009). It is now recognized that P. viridis is a good biomonitor in the Straits of Johore (Yap et al., 2006). The Straits of Johore is an interest- ing area for ecotoxicological studies due to anthro- pogenic activities that could potential become major sources of trace metal pollution in the coastal area (Amin et al., 2009). To assess the metal pollution in the coastal waters, mussel transplantation is used in this study. This is because of minimal effects of ex- ternal and internal factors such as seasonal varia- tion, size or age and genetic variation (Regoli and Orlando, 1994; Alfonso et al., 2010; Hedouin et al., 2011) and therefore this can provide more accurate (Received 29 July, 2012; accepted 30 August, 2012)