Heavy Metal Accumulation and Anti-Oxidative Feedback as a Biomarker in Seagrass Cymodocea serrulata

Abstract

The pursuit of a good candidate to biomonitor environmental pollutants has been on the increase. In this study, the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr, Pb and Ni in sediment, seawater and seagrass Cymodocea serrulata compartments and antioxidant enzymes activities in C. serrulata were determined. Our results revealed that bioconcentration factors for all the metals were less than 1 (BCF < 1) and concentrations in seagrass compartments were in the order root > leaf > rhizome for Fe and Mn, leaf > root > rhizome for Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni, and root > rhizome > leaf for Cd and Cr. Effect range low concentrations (ER-L) revealed that Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Ni concentrations were above ER-L values and Cr concentration was below ER-L values while concentrations in seawater for all the heavy metals were above the estimate average element concentrations in seawater (ECS). Significant variation (p < 0.05) was recorded for heavy metals in sediment, seawater, seagrass compartments and heavy metal concentrations across stations. Influence of heavy metals on antioxidant enzymes activities; catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) were recorded, and high activities of the antioxidants were recorded in station S8 corresponding to high concentrations of heavy metals in the same station. There is a need for the promotion of biomonitoring networks across the marine environment using C. serrulata and antioxidant enzymes as biomarkers of oxidative stress caused by environmental pollutants.