title: Baseline survey of sediments and marine organisms in Liaohe Estuary: Heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides.
abstract: A geographically extensive investigation was carried out to analyze the concentrations of heavy metals, PCBs and OCPs in the sediments and marine organisms collected from the Liaohe Estuary. In order to determine the spatial distribution and potential ecological risk of heavy metals, the surface sediments were collected from 44 sites in the Liaohe Estuary. The results showed that the heavy metal contents in the sediments were observed in the following order: Cr (11.2-84.8mg/kg)>Cu (1.7-47.9mg/kg)>Pb (4.3-28.3mg/kg)>As (1.61-12.77mg/kg)>Cd (0.06-0.47mg/kg)>Hg (0.005-0.113mg/kg). In comparison with the concentrations of heavy metals and POPs in other regions, the concentrations of As, Pb and DDTs in the Liaohe Estuary were generally low, and other pollutant concentrations were inconsistent with those reported in other regions. The contamination factor (CF), the pollution load index (PLI), the geoaccumulation index and the potential ecological risk index were used to analyze the pollution situation, which showed that the heavy metal pollution in Liaohe Estuary is mainly dominated by Cd and Hg. The concentrations of the four heavy metals varied significantly in the three kinds of tested organisms (fish, mollusk and crustacean), indicating the different accumulative abilities of the species. The results obtained in this study provide useful information background information for further ecology investigation and management in this region.
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecology Department, National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian 116023, China.
authors.forename: Hongjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, China.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecology Department, National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian 116023, China.
authors.forename: Jinqing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecology Department, National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian 116023, China. Electronic address: jffan@nmemc.org.cn.
authors.forename: Jingfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
authors.forename: Meiling
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Marine Ecology Department, National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center, Dalian 116023, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D002681:China; D004463:Ecology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D063366:Estuaries; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010575:Pesticides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Heavy metal; Liaohe Estuary; Marine organism; Organochlorine pesticides; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Sediment