Abstract
Bioaccumulation of total hydrocarbon content (THC) in mangrove is a bottom up effect. Leave, root, seed and stem samples were collected from red, black and white mangroves from highly and lowly polluted locations. Total hydrocarbon analysis was done with atomic absorption spectrophotometric method using HARCH DR 890 colorimeter (wavelength~420 nm). The result indicates that there is significant difference in THC between species (F2, 105=9.82, P seed>root>stem. For red mangroves THC ranged from 0.47 mg/l in root to 25.38 mg/l in the leave, for white mangroves THC ranged from 1.08 mg/l in stem to 5.90 mg/l in leave; for black mangrove THC ranged from 1.08 mg/l in stem to 21.64 mg/l in seed in the lowly polluted location while in the highly polluted location for red mangroves THC varied from 1.08 mg/l in stem to 23.97 mg/l in leave, for white mangroves THC varied from 0.64 mg/l in stem to 4.32 mg/l in leave and for black THC varied from 1.31 mg/l to 6.17 mg/l in leave. Mangrove parts in lowly polluted location had higher mean THC (10.43 ± 1.74 mg/l) than plant parts in highly polluted location (5.21 ± 0.62 mg/l). This study implies that red mangroves are good pollutant sink, which makes them a good bioremediation agent. Contamination of mangrove can lead to biomagnification of hydrocarbon up the food chain.
Highlights
Mangroves are often described as resilient [1] and persistent [2] to external perturbations such as changes in tidal surge, high salinity, low oxygen [3] and hydrocarbon pollution [4]
For red mangroves total hydrocarbon content (THC) ranged from 0.47 mg/l in root to 25.38 mg/l in the leave, for white mangroves THC ranged from 1.08 mg/l in stem to 5.90 mg/l in leave and for black mangrove THC ranged from 1.08 mg/l in stem to 21.64 mg/l in seed in the lowly polluted location (Buguma) while in the highly polluted site (Okrika) THC varied from 1.08 mg/l in stem to 23.97 mg/l in leave in red, varied from 0.64 mg/l in stem to 4.32 mg/l in leave in white mangrove and varied from 1.31 mg/l to 6.17 mg/l in leave
This study showed that higher productivity and litter fall in red mangroves is a mechanism to counter the effect of total hydrocarbon pollution in a polluted mangrove forest
Summary
Mangroves are often described as resilient [1] and persistent [2] to external perturbations such as changes in tidal surge, high salinity, low oxygen [3] and hydrocarbon pollution [4]. Mangroves can survive low to medium oil spillages and sometimes major spillages This is because of their adaptation to grow in difficult and polluted environment. Mangrove forest encounters numerous natural (e.g., tsunami, global warming, and hurricane) and anthropogenic (e.g., invasive species, hydrocarbon pollution and deforestation) effects. The reason for these impacts is because of their growth in the interface between the land and the sea. Hydrocarbons can serve as an antiseptic agents that reduce microbes and disease-causing agents in mangrove forest [12]. Many toxic heavy metals and hydrocarbons cannot biodegrade and will persist in the forest for a long time to bioaccumulate in living organisms and be transferred up the food chain [13].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
