title: Heavy metal concentration in mangrove surface sediments from the north-west coast of South America.
abstract: Mangrove ecosystems are coastal estuarine systems confined to the tropical and subtropical regions. The Estero Salado mangrove located in Guayaquil, Ecuador, has suffered constant disturbances during the past 20 years, due to industrial wastewater release. However, there are no published data for heavy metals present in its sediments and the relationship with anthropogenic disturbance. In the present study, metal concentrations were evaluated in surface sediment samples of the mangrove, showing that B, Cd, Cu, Pb, Se, V, and Zn levels exceeded those declared in international environmental quality standards. Moreover, several metals (Pb, Sn, Cd, Ag, Mo, Zn and Ni) could be linked to the industrial wastewater present in the studied area. In addition, heavy metal levels detected in this mangrove are higher than previous reports on mangrove sediments worldwide, indicating that this mangrove ecosystem is one of the most disrupted on earth.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Fernández-Cadena
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Metales, Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Ministerio de Ambiente, Subsecretaría de Gestión Marino Costera, Departamento de Sistema de Información Geográfica, Ministerio del Ambiente, Ecuador.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Silva-Coello
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: rdelaiglesia@bio.puc.cl.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De la Iglesia
mesh_terms: D004484:Ecuador; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Heavy metals; Mangrove; Surface sediments