Page 9 - TraceMetals_seagrass_algae

L. Campanella et al. / Environmental Pollution 111 (2001) 117±126 125
sessile or sedentary species are available in every season
all over the Mediterranean coastal area and are easy to
sample and identify.
Individuals of the four selected species, collected at
®ve stations in Favignana Island (Sicily, Italy), provided
a rather univocal picture of bioavailable Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb
and Zn loads in the experimental area. An overall trend
of increased metal concentrations at the station in which
the local harbour is located was clear. On the contrary,
the metal concentrations recorded at the clean stations
generally fall in the range of the lowest values available
in the literature Ð thus con®rming the hypothesis of an
experimental area virtually unin¯uenced by anthro-
pogenic activities Ð and may be considered as useful
background levels to which to refer for intraspeci®c
comparison within the Mediterranean area.
In such comparisons the choice of the exact tissue for
chemical analysis it is of critical importance because dif-
ferent tissues, and even di€erent parts of the same tissue,
may greatly di€er in their metal content, as shown by our
results for P. oceanica. Moreover, while sampling the
biota, special attention must be paid to selecting indivi-
duals belonging to a narrow size range, always collected
at the same depth and distance from the shoreline (Phil-
lips, 1977; Phillips and Segar, 1986).
Another issue to be considered is the ability to accu-
mulate di€erent metals shown by each biological species.
As regards the four species investigated in this study, P.
caerulea turned out to be the strongest accumulator for
Cd, P. pavonica for Cr and Pb, M. turbinata, P. oceanica
and P. pavonica for Cu, P. oceanica for Zn.
It may be observed that P. oceanica is located at the
base of the food web in the Mediterranean and
is probably the main source of metals for many animals
grazing on its leaves, while P. caerulea is a commonly
consumed seafood in many Mediterranean countries.
Therefore, the investigation of trace metal concentrations
in the tissues of these species may provide useful infor-
mation on the transfer of potentially toxic elements
from abiotic compartments (water, sediments) to higher
consumers, including man.
However, even if the use of the four above-named
species as biomonitors for trace metals looks attractive
for many reasons, further studies are needed in order to
evaluate the robustness of these organisms for routine
use in marine biomonitoring, aiming to fully clarify
their actual accumulation patterns.
Acknowledgements
Grateful thanks are due to Dr. Irene Calesini and Dr.
Antonietta Cutrone for their valuable assistance. We
would also like to thank Dr. Giuseppe Novara for his
support during our stay in Favignana and Luca Ciprotti
for his help in analytical determinations.
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