A review on heavy metal levels in sea cucumbers

Heavy metals can remain in the marine ecosystems for a long time, they may affect biota in the food chain as a result. Sometimes the existence of xenobiotics causes so great a alter in the ecosystem that a return to earlier, natural conditions is not viable. Human pressure on the sea’s resources is increasing, it affects the health of many organisms, leading to changes in the food chains and influencing accumulation in the tissues of biota. Sea cucumbers are being used for heavy metal pollution studies. They are preferred with their many features such as easy collection from the land, feeding with organic matter, contact with sediment, maintenance in laboratories, obtaining sufficient tissue, consuming some species. This review covers heavy metal studies with sea cucumbers in different seas. The results are compared with each other. In addition, the evaluation of the consumed sea cucumber species in terms of human health has been discussed.