Abstract
A study of benthic foraminiferal assemblages is carried out on 30 sediment samples collected from Lake Burullus to assess the response of the benthic foraminifera to the polluted sediments. The lake has been contaminated by industrial waste, mainly trace elements, as well as by agricultural effluent. Benthic foraminifera are the most common microorganism found in the surface sediments in the shallow and marginal marine environments. They are very sensitive to slight environmental changes and can reflect the health of the ecosystem they inhabit. Many studies assume or conclude that foraminiferal assemblages and the frequency of deformed tests are proxy indicators of pollution. X-ray microanalysis reveals that deformed specimens contain higher levels of heavy metals (Mn, Cu, and Hg) than non-deformed ones. This strongly suggests that heavy metals are responsible for the abnormalities in foraminiferal tests. Sediment samples were analyzed for the concentrations of Mn, Cu, Fe, Zn, V, Sr, Hg, Ni, Pb, Co, and Cr. Results show that the collected samples contain different concentration of the tested heavy metals.
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