Trace metal accumulation in marine macrophytes: Hotspots of coastal contamination worldwide.
This study quantifies the concentration of trace metals in coastal marine macrophytes (seagrasses, Chlorophytae, Phaeophytae and Rhodophytae). We do so by compiling, from 155 peer review research articles, almost 23,000 estimates of trace metals (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) contents in natural populations of marine macroalgae and seagrasses distributed worldwide. The objective was to explore the global distribution of concentrations of these metals in marine macrophytes, provide an estimate of their average and range in its tissues and to identify hotspots of coastal pollution. Our results reveal Phaeophytae as the group with the largest accumulation capacity and tolerance to elevated concentrations of metals regardless the species and the location. The mapping of geographic distribution of metal accumulation in marine macrophytes identifies some coastal areas as hotspots of trace metal contamination, where concentrations could reach levels up to 600 times higher than the mean.
Department of Global Change Research, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miguel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles, Balearic Island, Spain. Electronic address: dsanchez@imedea.uib-csic.es.
David
D
Sánchez-Quiles
Department of Global Change Research, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miguel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles, Balearic Island, Spain.
Núria
N
Marbà
Department of Global Change Research, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miguel Marqués 21, 07190 Esporles, Balearic Island, Spain; Department of Ecology and Coastal Management, Andalusian Institute for Marine Science, ICMAN (CSIC), Campus Universitario Río San Pedro, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain.
Antonio
A
Tovar-Sánchez
Coastal pollution; Macroalgae; Meta-analysis; Seagrasses