"As a consequence of their ability to accumulate potential pollutants, pearl oysters have been used as localized s of both s (Bou-Olayan et al., 1995; Al-Madfa et al., 1998) and s (Fowler et al., 1993). Furthermore, pearl oysters have also been shown to accumulate antibiotics such as and thus may serve as a useful biomonitor of antibiotic presence (McFarlane, et al., 2004). The wide global distribution of pearl oyster species also lends them to being a suitable candidate for regional or global environmental monitoring of . (Sarver et al., 2003; Gifford, 2006)."