Abstract
Metals concentrations (As, Cd, Cu, Hg and Pb) in seawater, sediment and the seagrass (Enhalus acoroides) were analysed at Pulai River estuary, Johor Straits, Malaysia. In this research, Enhalus acoroides was used in order to find it’s efficiency in up taking metals with a role in phytoremediation. Seawater, sediment and Enhalus acoroides samples were collected, and data of Pearson’s correlation coefficients were analysed using SPSS 16 software. Results show that lead levels were the highest metal content in Enhalus acoroides (202 ± 102 μg/gDW), seawater (268 ± 190 μg/L) and sediment (248 ± 218 μg/gDW), compared to other metals. There was a positive correlation for metal concentrations between Enhalus acoroides and sediment, but no correlation was found between Enhalus acoroides with seawater at estuarine area may be caused by inconsistent metal concentrations in seawater due to the influences of tidal changes and stormy waves. This indicates that Enhalus acoroides is a species possessing the capabilities to uptake metals from sediment, and suitable to act as both a phytoremediator and biomonitor in estuarine ecosystems due to sharp sensitivity to variation in the environment.
Highlights
An estuary is where land meets ocean; it is known as the most valuable aquatic ecosystem where seagrass beds housing extensive marine biodiversity are located [1,2,3,4]
Due to increasing demand for coastal resources as well as the human population growth, the coastal ecosystem is exposed to a wider variety of pollutants; estuaries are exposed to anthropogenic contaminants including complex mixtures of heavy metals from industrial, agricultural and domestic waste, arriving via rivers or through atmospheric deposition [7,8,9]
This study aims to determine the capabilities of the seagrass Enhalus acoroides to absorb dissolved metals from the environment and to determine if it is suitable as a tool for biomonitoring
Summary
An estuary is where land meets ocean; it is known as the most valuable aquatic ecosystem where seagrass beds housing extensive marine biodiversity are located [1,2,3,4]. Due to increasing demand for coastal resources as well as the human population growth, the coastal ecosystem is exposed to a wider variety of pollutants; estuaries are exposed to anthropogenic contaminants including complex mixtures of heavy metals from industrial, agricultural and domestic waste, arriving via rivers or through atmospheric deposition [7,8,9]. Seagrass beds represent one of the most important ecological components in the coastal ecosystem; seagrass leaves act as phytoremediators and cleanse seawater by absorbing dissolved metals [10] while seagrass roots play a role in shoreline protection by reducing coastal erosion from raging storms. The estimated value of this seagrass ecosystem conservation service amounts to a
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