Bioassessment of trace element contamination of Mediterranean coastal waters using the seagrass Posidonia oceanica

Heavy metal spatial variation, bioaccumulation, and risk assessment of Zostera japonica habitat in the Yellow River Estuary, China

“…Among other recent studies of seagrasses from other parts of the world, Cd concentrations are similar to the results of the present study, but Pb concentration in present study is higher than in other studies (Ambo-Rappe, 2014; Amado Filho et al, 2004;Richir et al, 2015;Conti et al, 2015).This may be related to large inputs of Pb associated the use of agricultural fertilizers in upriver areas. Furthermore, Cu concentrations in this study were 1.8 times higher in the shoots of Z. japonica than in the roots.…”

Spatial variations in trace element concentrations of the sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus, a first reference study in the Mediterranean Sea

“…The TEPI carried out revealed spatial differences in contamination. As previously described by Richir et al (2015), TE contamination in the western Mediterranean overall displayed a north-to-south gradient, from the Italian coasts down through the insular Corsican coasts to the north African littoral. Based on the available data, the western (Algeria, Spain) and eastern (Greece) basins of the Mediterranean seem to be contamination hotspots with almost all stations classed in HCL sites.…”

“…Based on TEPI values, the quartiles were calculated to determine the class limits of the 3-level water quality scale. The three levels of the quality scale were defined based on the values of the upper and lower quartiles: (i) low contamination level (LCL, TEPI values below the first quartile mean), (ii) medium contamination level (MCL, TEPI values between the 1st and 3rd quartile means), and (iii) high contamination level (HCL, TEPI values above the 3rd quartile means) Richir et al, 2015). Contamination levels for each station were then determined based on the TEPI values.…”

Seasonal change in trace element concentrations of Paracentrotus lividus: Its use as a bioindicator

“…Corsica island is often considered as a 'pristine' region on account of its water quality and the low anthropic pressure (Lafabrie et al, 2008;Gobert et al, 2017;Marengo et al, 2018). Nevertheless, according to recent studies, local contamination similar to that recorded in other anthropized areas in the Mediterranean can be found (Richir et al, 2015), with areas classified on the basis of different levels of contamination as anthropized or preserved sites (Ternengo et al, 2018). This is a real asset that makes it a particularly suitable study area to identify contaminants and to monitor their dynamics according to anthropogenic pressures.…”