Trace elements in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica: Compartmentation and relationships with seawater and sediment concentrations

Abstract

Seagrasses are employed to assess trace element levels in seawater and sediments; however, their capacity as bioindicators of trace elements in seawater has been recently questioned, due to the scarcity of a significant seagrass-seawater relationship. In the aim to provide an insight into trace element accumulation in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb concentrations in seawater, sediments, and several seagrass compartments (adult leaf blades, intermediate leaf blades, adult leaf sheaths, juvenile leaves, orthotropic rhizomes, plagiotropic rhizomes, and roots of plagiotropic rhizomes) from the coasts of Thrace, Greece were determined. Uni- and multivariate data analyses were applied. A comparison with reported element concentrations revealed that this coastal area can be generally classified as an area of no marked Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb anthropogenic enrichment. Trace elements showed a non-uniform distribution among seagrass compartments; adult leaf blades displayed the highest mean Cd and Ni concentrations, adult leaf blades, plagiotropic rhizomes and roots the highest mean Co concentrations, juvenile leaves the highest mean Cu concentration, and plagiotropic rhizomes the highest mean Cr and Pb concentrations, indicating that the accumulation varies with element, compartment and compartment age. Cd, Cr and Ni in adult leaf blades reached mean tissue-seawater accumulation factors of 103, while Co of 104, implying that this seagrass is a strong accumulator of these elements from solution. Cd, Co, Cr, and Ni concentrations in leaf compartments, particularly adult leaf blades, positively correlated with their concentrations in seawater, and Pb concentrations in plagiotropic rhizomes and roots with sediment Pb concentration. Thereby, P. oceanica could be regarded as a biondicator for Cd, Co, Cr and Ni in seawater, and for Pb in sediments. The results presented provide an insight on trace element accumulation in P. oceanica, and can be utilized for the design of biomonitoring programs.