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Screening of seaweeds in the East China Sea as potential bio-monitors of heavy metals

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Abstract

Seaweeds are good bio-monitors of heavy metal pollution and have been included in European coastal monitoring programs. However, data for seaweed species in China are scarce or missing. In this study, we explored the potential of seaweeds as bio-monitor by screening the natural occurring seaweeds in the “Kingdom of seaweed and shellfish” at Dongtou Islands, the East China Sea. Totally, 12 seaweed species were collected from six sites, with richness following the sequence of Rhodophyta > Phaeophyta > Chlorophyta. The concentration of heavy metals (Cu, Cr, Ni, Zn, Pb, Cd, As) in the seaweeds was determined, and the bioaccumulation coefficient was calculated. A combination of four seaweeds, Pachydictyon coriaceum, Gelidium divaricatum, Sargassum thunbergii, and Pterocladiella capillacea, were proposed as bio-monitors due to their high bioaccumulation capabilities of specific heavy metals in the East China Sea and hence hinted the importance of using seaweed community for monitoring of pollution rather than single species. Our results provide first-hand data for the selection of bio-monitor species for heavy metals in the East China Sea and contribute to selection of cosmopolitan bio-monitor communities over geographical large area, which will benefit the establishment of monitoring programs for coastal heavy metal contamination.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Key R and D Program of China (2016YFC1402104), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21677122), and the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China (2015DFA01410). We acknowledge Mr. Junyu He, Ph.D., candidate in Zhejiang University for his assistance in drawing Fig. 4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Island and Coastal Ecosystem, Ocean College, Zhejiang University, 1 Zheda Road, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, 316000, China

    Yaoru Pan, Ke Li, Jiaping Wu, Fang Lin, Yan Yu & Xi Xiao

  2. UWA Oceans Institute and School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Thomas Wernberg

  3. Service du Patrimoine Naturel, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France

    Thibaut de Bettignies

  4. Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense, Denmark

    Marianne Holmer

  5. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, 15213, USA

    Jiang Xu

  6. Marine Aquaculture Research Institute of Zhejiang Province, 6-1 Hetong Bridge, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325005, China

    Chaosheng Zhou & Zhixing Huang

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  1. Yaoru Pan
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  2. Thomas Wernberg
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  3. Thibaut de Bettignies
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  4. Marianne Holmer
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  5. Ke Li
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  6. Jiaping Wu
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  7. Fang Lin
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  8. Yan Yu
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  9. Jiang Xu
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  10. Chaosheng Zhou
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  11. Zhixing Huang
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  12. Xi Xiao
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Contributions

Conceived and designed the analysis: X.X., T.W., and Y.P. Sampled and identified the seaweed: T.W., T.D., X.X., Y.P., K.L., F.L., J.W., and Y.Y. Wrote the paper: Y.P., X.X., M.H., and T.W. All authors analyzed, interpreted the results, and edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xi Xiao.

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Pan, Y., Wernberg, T., de Bettignies, T. et al. Screening of seaweeds in the East China Sea as potential bio-monitors of heavy metals. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 16640–16651 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1612-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1612-3

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