Uses of Invertebrate Animals to Detect Water Pollution

Aquatic environments get contaminated with pesticide and heavy metal residues that causes water pollution.The excessive use of pesticides in agriculture has sparkled the interest of scientists in investigating the harmful effects of these compounds. The present study evaluates the pesticides Atrazine and Roundup (glyphosate) on biochemical and molecular aspects of Biomphalaria alexandrina snails, also to evaluate the pesticides Malathion and Deltamethrin on biological and biochemical parameters of Helisoma duryi snails.also the effect of aluminum chloride (AlCl3), and zinc sulphate (ZnSO4)was studied individually or in combination with each other on the biochemical and histological parameters of the pulmonate snail Biomphalaria alexandrina. P. clarkii and E. massavensis contamination with heavy metals and its relationship to public health have gained considerable concern in the last few years, so the concentrations of some heavy metals in P. clarkii and E. massavensis collected from a chosen area were determined.In conclusion The present study suggests that the above invertebrate animals can be used as bioindicators of water pollution.

Professor Dr. Salwa A.H. Hamdi has educational and academic experiences from teaching for 20 years in Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science,Cairo University. B.Sc (1990) very good with honor, M.Sc (1994) and Ph.D (2001) from Cairo University.Over 25 scientific papers and books were published in international and local journals.