title: Distribution and bioavailability of cadmium in ornithogenic coral-sand sediments of the Xisha archipelago, South China Sea.
abstract: Total cadmium (Cd) concentrations in four ornithogenic coral-sand sedimentary profiles displayed a strong positive correlation with guano-derived phosphorus, but had no correlation with plant-originated organic matter in the top sediments. These results indicate that the total Cd distributions were predominantly controlled by guano input. Bioavailable Cd and zinc (Zn) had a greater input rate in the top sediments with respect to total Cd and total Zn, and a positive correlation with total organic carbon (TOC) derived from plant humus. Multi-regression analysis showed that the total Cd and TOC explained over 80% of the variation of bioavailable Cd, suggesting that both guano and plant inputs could significantly influence the distribution of bioavailable Cd, and that plant biocycling processes contribute more to the recent increase of bioavailable Cd. A pollution assessment indicates that the Yongle archipelago is moderately to strongly polluted with guano-derived Cd.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Polar Environment, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, PR China. ycx@ustc.edu.cn
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chuangneng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Liqiang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Liguang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001717:Birds; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D010758:Phosphorus; D015032:Zinc