A review of metal contamination in seagrasses with an emphasis on metal kinetics and detoxification

Trajectories of trace element accumulation in seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) over a decade reveal the footprint of fish farming

“…The contamination levels during the 2012–2020 period were characterized as moderate in most cases, while an increasing trend of contamination was identified for Cd, Mo and V in Site 1 and As and Cu in both sites. The increasing tendency of contamination of these TEs is concerning, given the fact that they can be potentially phytotoxic (Zheng et al 2018 ) and hamper seagrass performance (Boudouresque et al 2020 ; Li et al 2023 ).The increase in contamination could result in high concentrations of these TEs that have already been associated with leaf necrosis, reduced seagrass growth (Llagostera et al 2016 ), impairments in the cytoskeleton (Malea et al 2013 ) and even seagrass declines (Espel et al 2019 ). However, our findings were not consistent between sites and elements, which should be interpreted in light of the complex interaction of factors controlling the abundance of the bioavailable forms of the TEs (Eggleton and Thomas 2004 ).…”

“…Local environmental and physicochemical conditions, including geomorphology, temperature, organic matter content and redox potential, play a critical role in determining the availability of TEs for uptake from the water column and sediments (Kalantzi et al 2013 ; Hamoutene et al 2021 ). These factors influence the formation of ionic forms that can either facilitate or hinder the uptake and mobility of TEs (Li et al 2023 ). For instance, the hydrodynamics may result in lateral transport of released TEs away from the immediately affected zone, with some TEs being assimilated fast by organisms close to the fish cages and transferred to long distances (> 1000 m) (Penry-Williams et al 2022 ).…”

“…Other TEs (e.g., Cd, Pb), despite being nonessential for seagrasses, can be retained by their tissues and lead to toxic effects when present at high concentrations (see Lewis and Devereux 2009 for a review). TE accumulation by seagrass can incite phytotoxic episodes, subsequently undermining their structural integrity, photosynthetic capacity, biochemical mechanisms and growth (see Bonanno and Orlando-Bonaca 2018 ; Li et al 2023 for reviews). Examples of TE toxicity in seagrass include decrease of growth and increase in leaf necrosis in Cymodocea nodosa (Llagostera et al 2016 ), photoinhibition in Zostera muelleri (Buapet et al 2019 ) or induced biochemical changes in Zostera japonica (Lin et al 2016 ).While some seagrass species, like P .…”

Seagrass Ecosystems of Tropical Islands As Bioindicator of Anthropogenic Trace Metal Contamination

“…K. Mishra & Farooq, 2022a;Sungur & Özcan, 2015). Once concentrated these contaminants (such as trace metals) gets accumulated in seagrass tissues (e.g., roots and rhizomes) and cause severe adverse effects on the seagrass plant physiology, associated biota and the coastal communities that utilize seagrass associated biodiversity as source of food and nutrition (Lewis & Richard, 2009;Y. Li et al, 2023;Oreska et al, 2018).…”

“…Trace metals are one of the globally concerned ubiquitous anthropogenic contaminants that impart adverse impacts on the seagrass plants and their associated biodiversity (Govers et al, 2014;Y. Li et al, 2023;Nishitha et al, 2022;Thorne-Bazarra et al, 2023).…”