Bioaccumulation of Fe, Zn and Pb in Faviidae and Poritidae corals from Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf, Iran

Transcription

1 Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences Vol. 45 (12), December 2016, pp Bioaccumulation of Fe, Zn and Pb in Faviidae and Poritidae corals from Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf, Iran Zahra Darvishnia 1, Alireza Riahi Bakhtiari* 2, Ehsan Kamrani 3 & Mir Masoud Sajjadi 4 1 Marine Biology Department, University of Hormozgan, Iran. 2 Environmental Science Department, Natural Resources and Marine Sciences Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran. 3 Fisheries Department, University of Hormozgan, Iran. 4 Fisheries Departmet, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Iran. riahi@modares.ac.ir] ariyahi@gmail.com, ] Received 11 November 2013 ; revised 25 February 2014 An investigation of 3 heavy metals, including 2 essential (Fe and Zn) and 1 non-essential (Pb) metals was performed, in the skeleton of two coral species, Faviidae and Poritidae from 3 reefs along the Qeshm Island coast of the Persian Gulf. Qeshm Island coast is influenced by anthropogenic activities such as Qeshm refinery, which discharge different amount of heavy metals in the area. Comparison between stations indicated that the maximum level of Fe (309.7 µg/g) and Zn (100.7 µg/g) was found in the corals of PZ and JN respectively. The Results indicated that the concentrations of the heavy metals in the corals were apparently different among the species. Highest level of Pb was determined in Poritidae and the highest concentration of Fe was found in Faviidae. These findings show that the coral species have different ability to bioaccumulate heavy metals from surrounding are even in the same habitat. [Keywords: Faviidae, Poritidae, Coral, Skeleton, Qeshm Island] Introduction It is well known that heavy metals naturally occur in marine ecosystems in very low levels, however their concentrations have increased due to human activities over time 13,8,1. Mining, industrial activities, agriculture and tankers traffic create a potential source of heavy metals contamination within marine environment 4,10. Marine ecosystems located near cities or industrialized areas are considered to be strongly influenced by local anthropogenic disturbances and subsequently heavy metals pollution. Coral reefs are common feature of tropical and semitropical shallow marine environment that receive various amount of anthropological pollution from surrounding areas 16. They are usually composed by colonies of several marine species and subsequently provide food supplies and habitat for other marine organisms. For these reasons, the ecology of these ecosystems and changes in the community structure with respect to contamination in the marine environment is one of the main subjects in marine pollution studies 2. The Persian Gulf is surrounded by many rich oil littoral states 10. Unlike the other aquatic ecosystems of the Persian Gulf, coral reefs studies, particularly in northern parts, are limited to a few qualitative studies 16. Assessment of various types of contaminants such as heavy metals in aquatic food chains from this region has received striking consideration in the recent years 4,18. Located near the Strait of Hormuz, in the northeastern Persian Gulf, Qeshm Island is the largest island of the Persian Gulf. Qeshm reefs are cited among the most diverse and important in the Persian Gulf in terms of overall species diversity 16, yet the corals and their suffering from contaminants in this region are not well studied. In Qeshm Island, coral reef degradation has increased significantly in the last decades, particularly along Boshehr and Hormozgan coasts due to increased anthropogenic contamination in the areas 21,23.

2 1728 INDIAN J. MAR. SCI., VOL. 45, NO. 12, DECEMBER 2016 These stressors and loads of contamination in these areas are thought to cause coral diseases and bleaching leading to a loss of coral cover and subsequently several aquatic organisms. Therefore, the main purposes of present investigation were to measure heavy metal concentrations in the skeleton of two coral species from Qeshm Island in order to determine the differences of heavy metal accumulations between species and to determine the load of heavy metals in the species. Material and Methods Qeshm Island has wide sandy and muddy shores and few and narrow areas with corals reef. In this island, corals are mainly restricted to two areas along the southern and southeastern shorelines. In this study, corals of Faviidae and Poritidae were collected from three stations including Parke Zeyton (PZ), Jazaiere Naz (JN) and Shib Deraz (SD) in July 2011 (Fig. 1). Fig.1 A map showing Qeshm Island and the station The coral heads were sampled by scuba divers at the three stations. Sites were selected to represent reefs that have been impacted by human activities. The samples were collected from depths ranging between 2-8 m. Coral skeleton samples (sufficient amount of coral skeleton were pooled together to obtain the expected weight of samples) representing around the last three years of growth, were combined for the analysis. The samples were transferred to the laboratory immediately using cleaned plastic bags and were deep-frozen at -20 C o until analysis. After recognizing the species, according to 22, the skeleton was separated using Air Brush, bathed in a deionized water solution and then was sonicated for 30 minute to eliminate the remaining tissue. The samples were pulverized in an acid-cleaned agate mortar and pestle and dried using Freez-drier (OPERON, OPR-FDU-7012). About 1g of the coral samples were digested with concentrated nitric acid and perchloric acid in the ratio of 4:1 until all the skeleton were dissolved and diluted with double distilled water and then filtered by a 42-µm paper filter. All reagents used were of analytical grade. Blank samples and standard reference material DORM 2 (National Research Council of Canada: dogfish muscle) were applied in order to avoid possible contamination during analysis and to check the accuracy of analytical procedures. The recovery rates of metals were between 92.1% and 108.4%. A flame atomic absorption spectrometer (SHIMADZU, AA 670) and graphite furnace atomic absorbtion (SHIMADZU, AA 670G) were employed to determine the concentrations of Pb, Fe and Zn in the samples. All data were subjected to Shapiro-wilk test in order to check normal distribution. In order to compare heavy metal concentration in the coral samples collected from different stations, one way analysis of variance was used. If significant difference was observed, the data were submitted to tukey post hoc test for separating of different groups. Comparison of heavy metal accumulation in different species was performed using t-test.

3 RIAHI BAKHTIARI et al.: BIOACCUMULATION OF FE, ZN AND PB IN FAVIIDAE AND PORITIDAE CORALS 1729 Results and Discussion The mean concentration and standard error of lead, iron and zinc metals in Faviidae and Poritidae skeleton are given in Table 1. The table also shows significant differences among stations. Regarding difference among stations, the highest concentrations of Pb (1700 μg/g), Fe (309.7 μg/g) and Zn (116.2 μg/g) in Faviidae species were detected in JN, PZ and JN respectively. Highest levels of Pb ( μg/g), Fe (128.1 μg/g) and Zn (100.7 μg/g) in Poritidae were measured in SD, PZ and JN respectively. The comparison between the sampling sites indicated that the amount of heavy metals in the coral species varied from station to station, and the differences could be attributed to variability in the sources of metals input and physicochemical factors. In addition to receiving Zn metal from the Persian Gulf, JN station receives a considerable amount of this metal from various sources on its coast. High Zn concentration in the JN corals suggests a source of zinc that is both proximate and continuous in input. It is due to the reef s proximity to the Qeshm refinery, Industrialized Zone of Qeshm and ship-painting factory 9. High concentration of Fe observed in PZ coral could be related to anthropogenic activities such urban effluents and domestic wastewaters 1. Enrichment in Pb metal, observed in the three stations, may be brought about by oil pollution in the Persian Gulf 4,23. Persian Gulf historically has been vulnerable to pollution, particularly oilrelated contamination, mainly because of its unique oceanographic characteristics. For instance, Gulf war oil spill of 1991 that appeared in the Persian Gulf has been the biggest oil pollution in the world 1. Table 1 Heavy metal concentration (µg/g dw) in samples of coral skeleton taken from Qeshm Island and previous studies. Species Station Lead Iron Zinc References SD ± a ± 32.5 a 40.3 ± 28 a Faviidae Poritidae JN 1700 ± c ± b ± 52.4 b PZ ± b ± c 32.2 ± 29.1 a SD ± c ± b 36.5 ± 13.8 a JN 1222 ± a 60.6 ± 10.7 a ± 63.9 c PZ ± b ± 86.7 c 50.4 ± 20.1 b This study Jadeh, Saudi Arabia Porites lutea [12] Punta, Brava, Venezuela Porites astreoides [6] Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan Porites sp [3] Fiji Islands Pocillopora damocornis Porites spp SD, Shib Deraz. JN, Jazaiere Naz. PZ, Parke Zeyton. Different letters show significant differences of metal concentration between stations. [5]

4 1730 INDIAN J. MAR. SCI., VOL. 45, NO. 12, DECEMBER 2016 To assess the pollution in the corals of Qeshm Island, the levels of metals noticed in this study were compared to those reported for corals in the Persian Gulf and different regions of the world. In general, the concentrations of Zn and Fe in the corals species of our study were higher than those in Porites lutea from the Jadeh, Saudi Arabia 12 The concentration of Fe found in this study was lower than that reported by Bastidas and Garc 7 in Porites astreoides from Punta, Brava, Venezuela, whereas the concentration of Zn in corals of Qeshm was in agreement with that levels in P. astreoides. The Fe and Zn concentrations found in our study were higher than those reported by Al-Rousan 3 in coral from the Gulf of Aqaba,by Jordan. By Banu Shah 5 studied heavy metals concentration in some coral species from Fiji Islands. The concentration of Pb and Zn in Pocillopora damocornis and the concentration of these metals in Porites spp were lower than those of the present findings. The results of t-test analysis to find the differences between the species are shown in Fig- 2. According to these data, the maximum level of Pb was measured in Poritidae, while the highest concentration of Fe was found in Faviidae. No significant differences were obtained for Zn in the skeleton tissue between the species. It is surprising that the accumulation of Fe and Zn, which are essential metals, in the coral species, was notably lower than Pb metal, which is a non-essential metal. Levels of these metals in corals are strongly affected by their concentration in the environmental, time of exposure, and species ability to regulate these elements 2. Zinc and iron are essential and vital micronutrient for some enzymes activities and subsequently for biological systems 7,24,1. Therefore, corals have the ability to regulate and redistribute them in their body 19,9. Present observations agree with the previous studies on heavy metal accumulation on coral species. By Mokhtar et al 20 studied the metals concentrations in Porites lutea from Pulau Payar. Fig. 2 Comparison of metals concentration between coral species. Different letters show significant differences of metal concentration between species They found that the concentration of lead is higher than zinc and suggested that this level reflects the concentration of Pb in the Porites lutea habitat. Similarly, by Elizalde et al 11 studied the concentrations of metals in some coral species and suggested that the enrichment of Pb in skeleton can be explained by detoxification mechanisms of the coral through which the coral reduce the levels of toxic elements. By Al-Rousan et al 3 investigated the levels of lead, zinc and iron in Porties corals from Jordanian bay. They found that the concentration of lead in the studied species is higher than iron and zinc metal. Heavy metals are incorporated into corals through different pathways, such as inclusion of detritus materials into skeletal pore spaces, direct replacement of calcium by dissolved heavy metals in aragonite lattice, uptake of organic materials incorporation of metals into coral skeletons and feeding 12. In addition, the corals surface area to tissue volume ratio is different between species that could lead to different metals uptake 19. Poritidae are a Scleractinian corals and have a high tendency to accumulate heavy metals continuously in their skeletons during growth 15. These species have been suggested to accumulate lead contamination linked with gasoline and other industries activities 14,15,17.

5 RIAHI BAKHTIARI et al.: BIOACCUMULATION OF FE, ZN AND PB IN FAVIIDAE AND PORITIDAE CORALS 1731 Conclusion The results showed that the accumulation of Pb, Fe and Zn varied among species and station. Fe and Zn concentrations, which are essential elements, in the coral skeletons collected from Qeshm Island varied among stations. This finding could be explained by the variation in physiological activities and feeding habit of the corals. Among the studied metals, Pb had the highest concentration. This finding could be attributed to the oil-related contamination in the Persian Gulf. Generally, the levels of the studied metals in the present study were higher than those in the some previous study, thus a potential danger may emerge in the future to corals species of Qeshm Island. Acknowledgment This study was supported University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abas, Iran References 1 Abdolahpur Monikh F, Peery S,. Karami O, Hosseini M, Abdi Bastami A & Ghasemi A F, Distribution of Metals in the Tissues of Benthic, Euryglossa orientalis and Cynoglossus arel., and Bentho-Pelagic, Johnius belangerii., Fish from Three Estuaries, Persian Gulf, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology., 89(2012) Ali A A M, Hamed M A & El-Azim H A, Heavy metals distribution in the coral reef ecosystems of the northern Red Sea, Helgol Marine Research., 65(2011) Al-Rousan S A, Al-Shloul R N, Al-Horani FA & Abu-Hilal A H, Heavy metal contents in growth bands of Porites corals: Record of anthropogenic and human developments from the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba, Marine Pollution Bulletin., 54(2007) Al-Saleh I & Shinwari N, Preliminary report on the levels of elements in four fish species from the Arabian Gulf of Saudi Arabia, Chemosphere., 48(20027) Banu Shah S, Study of Heavy Metal Accumulation in Scleractinian Corals of Viti Levu, Fiji Islands. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Environmental Science. School of Marine Sciences Faculty of Islands and Oceans University of the South Pacific Suva, Fiji Islands Bastidas C & Garc EM, Metal content on the Ref. Coral Porites astreoides: an evaluation of river influence and 35 years of chronology, Marine Pollution Bulletin., 38(1999) Barron M G, Bioaccumulation and concentration in aquatic organisms. In: Handbook of Ecotoxicology, (Eds.) (D. J. Hoffman, B. A. Rattner, G. A. Burton Jr. and J. Cairns Jr. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton), FL, 1995, pp Burgera J & Gochfeldb M, Heavy metals in commercial fish in New Jersey, Environmental Research., 99(2005) Chen T-R, Yu K-F, Li S, Price G J, Shi Q & Wei G J, Heavy metal pollution recorded in Porites corals from Daya Bay, northern South China Sea, Marine Environmental Research /j.marenvres., (2010) d Mora S, Fowler S, Wyse E & Azemard S, Distribution of heavy metals in marine bivalves, fish and coastal sediments in Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Marine Pollution Bulletin., 49(2004) Elizalde M M, Gold-Bouchot G & Ceja-Moreno V, Lead contamination in the Mexican Caribbean recorded by the coral Montastrea annularis (Ellis and Solander), Marine Pollution Bulletin., 44(2002) Hanna R G & Muir G L, Red Sea corals as biomonitors of trace metal pollution, Env. Monit. Assess., 14(1990) Henry F, Amara R, Courcot L, Lacouture D & Bertho M-L, Heavy metals in four fish species from the French coast of the Eastern English Channel and Southern Bight of the North Sea, Environment International., 30(2004) Inoue M, Hata A, Suzuki A, Nohara M, Shikazono N, Yim W W S, Hantoro W S, Sun D H & Kawahata H, Distribution and temporal changes of lead in the surface seawater in the western Pacific and adjacent seas derived from coral skeletons, Environmental Pollution., 144(2006) Inoue M & Tanimizu M, Anthropogenic lead inputs to the western Pacific during the 20th century, Science of the Total Environment., 406(2008) Kavousi, J., J. Seyfabadi, R. Rezai and D. Fenner., Coral Reefs and Communities of Qeshm Island, the Persian Gulf, Zoological Studies., 50(2011) Kelly A E, Reuer M K, Goodkin N F & Boyle E A, Lead concentrations and isotopes in corals and water near Bermuda , Earth and Planetary Science Letters., 283(2009) Khansari F E, Ghazi-Khansari M & Abdollahi M, Heavy metals content of canned tuna fish, Food Chem., 93(2005) Mitchelmore C L, Verde E A & Weis V M, Uptake and partitioning of copper and cadmium in the coral Pocillopora damicornis, Aquatic Toxicology., 85(2007) Mokhtar M B, Awaluddin A B, Bin M d, Tan M, Bin H j & Yasin Z, Trace Metals in Langkawi Coral and Sediment: A study using AAS and XRF, Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences., 7(2001)

6 1732 INDIAN J. MAR. SCI., VOL. 45, NO. 12, DECEMBER Riegl B, Corals in a non-reef setting in the southern Arabian Gulf (Dubai, UAE): fauna and community structure in response to recurring mass mortality, Coral Reefs., 18(1999) Shen G T & Boyle E A, Determination of lead, cadmium and other trace metals in annually banded corals, Chem. Geol., 67(1988) Sheppard C, Al-Husiani M, Al-Jamali F, Al-Yamani F, Baldwin R, Bishop J, Benzoni F, Dutrieux E, Dulvy N K, Durvasula S R V & others., The Gulf: A young sea in decline, Marine Pollution Bulletin., 60(2010) Tuzen M, Toxic and essential trace elemental contents in fish species from the Black Sea, Turkey, Food and Chemical Toxicology., 47(2009)