Accumulation of Heavy Metals in Cladophora fracta and Chaetomorpha ligustica Species

Abstract

Besides playing a crucial ecological role, certain types of algae have also become significant indicators of chemical pollutants. In this research, marine algae were examined to evaluate their suitability as biomonitoring instruments for detecting heavy metal pollution in coastal regions. The levels of cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) were assessed in two types of green algae: Cladophora fracta and Chaetomorpha ligustica, which were both gathered from the same natural habitat. Samples were collected from the coast of Bostanlı, Izmir (Aegean Sea, Turkey) in August 2023. The collected samples were first subjected to morphological species identification. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectro-metry (ICP-MS) analysis was used to measure the accumulated concentrations of heavy metals (Zn Ni, Cu, Pb, Cd) of the separated species. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that the accumulation of heavy metals was higher in Cladophora fracta compared to Chaetomorpha ligustica. Both species have particularly high accumulation potentials for Zn in their tissues. The heavy metal accumulation concentrations for both species are as follows, respectively: Zn > Ni > Cu > Pb > Cd.