ABSTRACT
This chapter explores aspects that might assist in any understanding and appreciation of the significance of heavy metal concentrations in marine invertebrates. Routes for the uptake of heavy metals by marine invertebrates include uptake from solution and uptake from food. Metals associated with particles usually become available to marine invertebrates only after ingestion and digestion in the alimentary tract. Excretion of heavy metals from the bodies of marine invertebrates may also take place by a variety of routes. Relative rates of metal uptake and excretion are affected by features of the biology of the organism, including the permeability of external surfaces, and the nature of the food and its method of capture. Heavy metals are taken up passively by marine invertebrates even when external total metal concentrations are low. The concentrations of heavy metals in the bodies of marine invertebrates depend on the accumulation strategy adopted by each species for each metal.
