Impacts of human activities and natural inputs on heavy metal contents of many coral reef environments along the Egyptian Red Sea coast

Abstract

In order to monitor the heavy metals effect coming from both human activities and natural inputs on coral reef environments of the Egyptian Red Sea coast, metal concentrations in thirty- eight coral reef species and nearby sediment samples collected from seven studied sites were analyzed. Four sites represent impacted areas; included from south to north Hamrawein, Safaga and Hurghada Harbours and Ras El-Behar Area. Wadi El-Gemal represents natural input area while Qola'an and Kalawye Reefs are the control areas. Heavy metal contents were measured in both coral skeletons and nearby marine sediments. Both impact areas as well as natural inputs area recorded the highest values of metals compared with the control ones. However, heavy metal contents recorded high values in sediments of Hamrawein Harbour, while coral species recorded high values in Wadi El-Gemal area. Generally, metal variations in coral reef species reflect natural conditions and human activity. On the other hand, there are no clear relationships between concentrations of heavy metals in coral reef species and those in sediments.