The response of benthic foraminifera to various pollution sources: A study from Nellore Coast, East Coast of India

Abstract

A study of benthic foraminiferal species was carried out along Nellore Coast of South India. Analysis of surfacial sediment samples from the study area shows enrichment in heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn). The environment has become so lethal to foraminifera that minimal species number (4-7) can currently preserved in living condition in a depth less than 5-fth contour from coast. Samples from outfalls which receive only agricultural and aquacultural drainage water show heavy metal concentrations slightly higher to natural baseline levels, and yielding, living foraminifera (10-15). The frequent occurrence of deformed and abnormal specimens in Industrial outfalls, comparable to aquacultural and agricultural outlets reveal that (a) benthic foraminifera are more sensitive to industrial wastes containing heavy metals, (b) agricultural and aquacultural wastes do not significantly harm benthic foraminifera, and (c) morphological abnormalities of the foraminiferal tests depend upon the nature of the pollutant.

Meiofauna as a Tool for Marine Ecosystem Biomonitoring

“…These were mainly conducted in the Atlantic Ocean (Bouchet et al, 2007;Clark, 1971;Schafer et al, 1995;Scott et al, 1995), the Pacific Ocean (Debenay et al, 2009), the Red Sea (Angel et al, 2000), the China Sea (Debenay & Luan, 2006), the Japan Sea (Tarasova & Preobrazhenskaya, 2007), the Adriatic Sea (Vidović et al, 2009) and the Bay of Bengal (Jayaraju et al, 2008) (Fig. 2b).…”

Anthropogenic Impact on the Pulicat Lagoon Monitoring with Foraminifera, East coast of India

“…In most of these stations the sediment cover is relatively thin, thickening near mangroves and along isolated mud banks. During collection of samples , dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature were recorded in situ using a Hydrolab Mini Sonde multi-probe instrument [9]. Sampling depths were estimated from a bathymetric chart based on GPS coordinates (Table 1).…”

“…It is believed that pollutant concentrations in sediments tended to be negatively correlated with foraminiferal abundance and diversity, and positively correlated with incidences of deformed tests. Ultimately, even stress-tolerant taxa will decline in densities as the stress intensifies [9,47,48,49]. More over , salinity and pH changes often further complicate interpretations.…”

Benthic foraminiferal assemblages and trace element contents from the lagoons of Orbetello and Lesina

“…Through these studies, a considerable effort has been made to develop new methodologies for biological monitoring of different contaminants. More recently, several studies from different environmental settings have focused on benthic foraminiferal response to trace element pollution, which has markedly increased over the last few decades and caused deleterious effects on ecosystems (e.g., Alve 1991Alve , 1995Sharifi et al 1991;Yanko et al 1994Yanko et al , 1998Yanko et al , 1999Jayaraju and Reddy 1996;Coccioni 2000;Geslin et al 2000Geslin et al , 2002Samir 2000;Samir and El-Din 2001;Elberling et al 2003;Armynot du Châtelet et al 2004;Coccioni et al 2003Coccioni et al , 2009Ferraro et al 2006;Jayaraju et al 2007;Frontalini and Coccioni 2008;Frontalini et al 2009). These investigations have documented the fact that such contamination, which might cause pathological processes in the foraminiferal cell, plays an important role in the development of abnormal (teratological) tests as well as changes in foraminiferal abundance and taxonomic composition, size variation, and structural modification (e.g., Alve 1991Alve , 1995Yanko et al 1994;Geslin et al 1998).…”