Impact of marine pollution in green mussel <i>Perna viridis</i> from four coastal sites in Karachi, Pakistan, North Arabian Sea: Histopathological observations

Abstract

Pathological changes are regarded as a standard technique to monitor the effects of pollutants in marine animals<span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US" lang="EN-US">. Histopathological examination of the population of green mussel<i> Perna viridis</i> (L.) from four sites in Pakistan, namely, Manora Channel, Rehri Creek, Sandspit Backwaters and Bhanbore was conducted. The first three sites are on the Karachi coast, whereas the fourth one, Bhanbore is situated outside Karachi, and is considered to be less polluted. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Two types of parasites, Rickettsia-like organisms and metacestode <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">were found in the mussels studied. I<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">n the present study, we observed various pathological lesions, such as inflammatory responses, granulocytomas, lipofuscin<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"> pigments, vacuolation in the digestive gland and gonads, lamellar fusion and dilated hemolymphatic sinus in the gills of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">P. viridis</i>. These observations indicate the extent of environmental pollution in the studied areas. Although, Bhanbore is considered to be relatively less polluted compared to other three sites, the present results have revealed that the waters of Bhanbore are also polluted as evidenced by the pathological changes observed in the mussels collected from there.

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