Biomonitoring of Heavy Metals in Some Brown Algal Species in the Red Sea Area (Saudi Arabia and Egypt) PDF

Keywords

Brown algae, Biomonitors, Heavy metals, Red sea area, Gizan, Hurghada.

Abstract

The concentration of Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn). Cobalt (Co), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd) and Copper (Cu) were determined in specimens of four marine brown algae. Turbinaria decurrense, Sargassum dentifolium, Sargassum latifolium and Padina pavonia. The four algal species were collected from two sites: The Red Sea coasts at Hurghada in Egypt, an area slightly influenced by anthropogenic activities, and Gizan in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an area which requires intensive study, especially in ecological terms. In order to gain a complete picture of the quality of the aquatic environment in both studied sites, heavy metals concentrations were determined in the selected algal species. The picture of bioavailable metal loads in the different sites of the selected areas provided by the four algal species was rather univocal. An overall trend of increased all-determined metal concentrations in Gizan was clear. Lead (Pb) was considered to be the influenced pollutant in Gizan, where its concentration in (T) decurrense, (S), dentifolium, (S) latifolium and (P) pavonia was (54.5), (45.17), (55.28) and (56.8) fold than that in the same species in Hurghada. On the other hand, the metal concentrations recorded at Hurghada, a site expected to be uncontaminated, generally fall in the lowest values available in the literature and may be considered as a useful reference for intraspecific comparison within the Red Sea area.