Air quality monitoring of Kochi city using spider web as bioindicator

Abstract A study was conducted to monitor the air quality of Kochi city using webs of two different spider species as samples. Spider silk can be better accumulator of pollutants than other bio-indicators (Rybak,2015). Webs of Pholcus phalangioides (Fuesslin, 1775) and Cyrtophora spp (Simon,1864) were sampled simultaneously from three sites of Kochi and its suburbs, Kizhakkambalam, FACT Udyogamandal and Sacred Heart College Campus, Thevara for a period of four months. Spectroscopic analysis of 24 web samples using ICP-OES detected higher heavy metal concentration at the third site- Thevara followed by Fact and the least at Kizhakkambalam, the suburban area of Kochi. We observed that the most accumulated heavy metal to be Iron (Fe) and least Mercury (Hg). Concentration of thirteen heavy metals, Ag, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni,, Sn, Pb, Hg, and Zn in parts per million (ppm) were analyzed to evaluate the various vehicular and industrial emission at Kochi. This study concludes that accumulation of various heavy metals are several times greater than previously reported studies.