Trace Elements in Marine Environments: Occurrence, Threats and Monitoring with Special Focus on the Coastal Mediterranean

Abstract

Trace elements, as building blocks of matter, are naturally present in the environment. However, their extraction, production, use and release by men can lead to the increase of their environmental levels to concentrations that may be toxic for both men and the biota. The overall aim of this review is therefore to recall that trace elements remain contaminants of concern that still require scientific attention. Because marine coastal systems (and transitional environments in general) are particularly vulnerable to contamination processes, they deserve to be accurately monitored with quality indicator species. As an example, the 2 most widely quality indicator species used to assess the health status of the coastal Mediterranean are the seagrass Posidonia oceanica and the mussel Mytilus galloprovincilias. In this review, after a short introduction on human pressures on the World Ocean and the coastal Mediterranean in particular (1), we will redefine the term trace element from an environmental perspective and discuss their accumulation and toxicity for men and the biota (2). We will consider the benefits of using biological indicators instead of water and sediment measurements to assess the health status of the marine environment (3), and more particularly as regards the accurate and complementary indicators that are seagrasses (4) and mussels (5).