ABSTRACT
Ubiquity, key-species status in numerous ecosystems, and abundance of echinoderms indicate that members of this phylum could be valuable subjects for pollution monitoring and impact studies. As a first insight in this topic, seasonal and geographical variations of heavy metal levels were investigated in the common asteroid of the North Sea, Asterias rubens. In each site, the prey of A. rubens was sampled simultaneously to the asteroids and the metal concentrations within its soft tissues were measured. In several cases, the anatomic compartments of the asteroid show significant geographical differences in metal levels while M. edulis. Indirect bioconcentration factors are often lower than one, suggesting that heavy metals are not bioconcentrated by A. rubens from its prey.
