title: Seagrasses as indicators for coastal trace metal pollution: a global meta-analysis serving as a benchmark, and a Caribbean case study.
abstract: Seagrass beds are highly productive coastal ecosystems providing a large array of ecosystem services including fisheries and carbon sequestration. As seagrasses are known to be highly sensitive to anthropogenic forcing, we evaluated the use of trace metal concentrations in seagrasses as bioindicators for trace metal pollution of coastal regions at both global and local scale. We carried out a meta-analysis based on literature data to provide a global benchmark list for trace metal accumulation in seagrasses, which was lacking in literature. We subsequently carried out a case study at the Caribbean islands of Curaçao and Bonaire to test for local-scale differences in trace metal concentrations in seagrasses, and internal metal allocation. The benchmark and local study show that trace metal concentrations in seagrass leaves, regardless of the species, can vary over a 100-1000-fold range, and are related to the level of anthropogenic pressure, making seagrasses highly valuable indicators.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: lauralgovers@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Laura L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Govers
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Ecology and Environmental Biology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Leon P M
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Lamers
authors.affiliation: Department of Spatial Ecology, NIOZ Yerseke Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 140, 4400 AC, Yerseke, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Tjeerd J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Bouma
authors.affiliation: Department of General Instruments, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jelle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eygensteyn
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan H F
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: de Brouwer
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A Jan
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hendriks
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Ecology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Chantal M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Huijbers
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marieke M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: van Katwijk
mesh_terms: D017691:Caribbean Region; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005398:Fisheries; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry*; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D014131:Trace Elements
keywords: Bioindicator; Ecosystem service; Heavy metal; Review; Thalassia testudinum