Abstract
A global assessment of arsenic (As), nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co) and chromium (Cr) was performed in environmental samples from an important industrial bay. Different fractions of water, sediments and tissues from four species of fish were analysed. Samples were collected from selected sampling sites during four consecutive samplings in spring and autumn seasons, in order to evaluate concentrations and their possible correlations among the aquatic compartments. While a higher availability of Cr and Ni was found in water, Co and As were the most available elements in sediments. In fish, the liver was the tissue with the highest proportion of As and Co, and gills showed the highest concentrations of Ni and Cr. Significance differences were observed among sites showing the pollution sources. In sediments, high correlations were found between total Co content and the most available fractions. Total Ni content highly correlated with the oxidisable fraction, while Cr total content tightly correlated with the least available fractions. Quality guideline values for sediments were frequently exceeded. In sediments and biota, concentrations were slightly higher than in other ecosystems, indicating that maritime, industrial and urban activities are affecting this type of ecosystem with great anthropogenic influence.
Highlights
There are no reference Continuous Concentration (CCC) and criteria of Maximum Concentration (CMC) levels for Co concentrations and it is not possible to determine its possible impact on the aquatic environment, much higher values were observed at site 4 during autumn compared to values that can be found in natural seawater
Due to the fact that the elements studied are prone to accumulate in the sediments and thanks to the currents typical of this area that carry out the continuous renewal of these waters, it was concluded that, despite the high availability of the elements in the water samples, the dissolved concentrations do not represent a risk to the ecosystem
No significant correlations were found between fish and water or fish and sediments, even though high metal contents were found in some fish tissues compared with other ecosystems, indicating that the industrial, maritime and urban activities in Algeciras Bay are affecting the biota of this ecosystem
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This study has been carried out in order to investigate the distribution, both spatially and temporally, of metals and potentially harmful substances in water, sediments and biota in order to assess and study their potential ecological risk in a very important industrialized area, such as Algeciras Bay (Southwestern Spanish coast) [15]. This aquatic ecosystem is surrounded by cities, industries and rivers with agricultural inputs, which influence the contamination of its waters, sediments and biota. Results obtained were statistically analysed in order to study correlations among fractions and compartments, and they were compared with other ecosystems and guidelines in order to gather information about the evolution and interrelationship of the existing pollution among the different environmental compartments in areas anthropogenically influenced, and its possible toxic effects on organisms
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