Trace metals assessment in water, sediment, mussel and seagrass species – Validation of the use of Posidonia oceanica as a metal biomonitor

Abstract

The accumulation of trace metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Ni and Pb) was measured in water, sediment, the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. Samples were collected in three locations of the north-western Mediterranean (Canari, Livorno and Porto-Torres) which present different levels and sources of human impact. Analyses in the different compartments (water, sediment, M. galloprovincialis and P. oceanica) have allowed to identify Canari as the most Cd, Co, Cr and Ni contaminated site; Livorno as the most Hg contaminated and Porto-Torres as the most Pb contaminated. Furthermore, for the first time, metal concentrations found in P. oceanica have been compared with those found in the water column, in the sediment and in the recognized metal bio-indicator species M. galloprovincialis and the results obtained have led to the same conclusions. Thus, this study allows to validate the use of P. oceanica as metal biomonitor of coastal waters.

Trace elements in major marketed marine bivalves from six northern coastal cities of China: Concentrations and risk assessment for human health

“…The Cd levels had a wide range of variation (0.04-6.44 μg/g) and showed big differences among different species, which were consistent with previous observations on bivalves (0.04-6.5 μg/g) (Lafabrie et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2007;Ruan, 2008;Whyte et al, 2009). The Cd levels in A. irradians and C. farreri from all the sampled cities, Crassostrea gigas from Weihai and Yantai, and S. subcrenata from Qingdao and Rizhao were all higher than the safety level of 2.0 μg/g wet weight set up by the WHO (1982).…”

“…The concentrations of As had a narrow range of variation (0.87-2.94 μg/g) in different species, consistent with previous observations on bivalves (0.18-2.97 μg/g) (Lafabrie et al, 2007;Wang et al, 2007;Whyte et al, 2009). By estimating inorganic As concentration to be 10 percent of the total arsenic concentration according to the USFDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) (1993), the As levels in all the collected bivalve species were all within the restrictive range (inorganic As 1.0 μg/g wet weight) set up by the AQSIQ (General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China) (2001).…”

A Preliminary Study on the Heavy Metal Levels of Dwarf Eelgrass Zostera noltii Homermann in the Black Sea

“…It may be concluded that dwarf eelgrass may accumulate all the heavy metals from the marine environment. Many studies are available on the heavy metals research has focused on the accumulation of heavy metals in seagrasses [11,13,15,16,22]. In this study Fe was the highest in Z. noltii and followed Al, Zn, Cu, As, Pb, Cd and Hg.…”

“…Nutrient loading from runoff and scarcity of water quality from sedimentation, coastal development and squandering disease may be resulted in local declines of Z. Noltii [14]. Several researchers subsequently have shown that the use of seagrass as a bio-indicator of heavy metal contamination [11,[15][16][17][18]. Zostera beds are important habitats for many species, including hydroids, bryozoans, crustaceans, polychaete worms, gastropod molluscs and fishes [19].…”

Evaluation of Discrete and Passive Sampling (Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films – DGT) Approach for the Assessment of Trace Metal Dynamics in Marine Waters – a Case Study in a Small Harbor

“…[46][47][48] Several studies found that the accumulation of metals within the biota corresponds more to DGT-labile than to dissolved concentration of trace metals. [10,45,49] Bioavailability is also the term adopted by the WFD, either by a direct measurement or calculated by the speciation modeling, and it is suggested as Environmental quality standard (EQS).…”