Marine sponges as a powerful tool for trace elements biomonitoring studies in coastal environment

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin Vol. 131; no. Pt A; pp. 633 - 645
• Main Authors: Orani, Anna Maria, Barats, Aurélie, Vassileva, Emilia, Thomas, Olivier P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2018; Elsevier BV; Elsevier
• Subjects: Accumulation; Animals; Anthropogenic factors; Arsenic - analysis; Arsenic - pharmacokinetics; Bacteria; Bioaccumulation; Biological magnification; Biomonitoring; Coastal environments; Coastal zone; Comparative analysis; Comparative studies; Copper; Earth Sciences; Environment; Environmental Biomarkers; Environmental Monitoring - methods; France; Geologic Sediments - analysis; Human influences; Indicator organisms; Ireland; Isotope ratios; Isotopes; Lead; Lead isotope ratios; Marine environment; Marine invertebrates; Marine sponges; Mediterranean Sea; Metals - analysis; Metals - pharmacokinetics; Molybdenum; Nickel; Porifera - microbiology; Porifera - physiology; Ratios; Sciences of the Universe; Species; Sponges; Trace elements; Water Pollutants, Chemical - pharmacokinetics; Marine environment; Marine sponges; Trace elements; Bioaccumulation; Lead isotope ratios
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.04.073

In this work, we performed a comparative study on six marine sponge species collected along the French Mediterranean and Irish coasts for their TEs accumulation. Intra and inter-species variabilities were examined. Among the Mediterranean species, Cymbaxinella damicornis accumulates significantly more As and Cu than others sponge species; Chondrilla nucula more Ni and Mo and Acanthella acuta more Ag. Among Irish samples, Hymeniacidon perlevis showed higher accumulation properties for most of TEs in comparison to Halichondria panicea. Bioconcentration Factors were > 1 in all species for most of TEs. This study suggests that TEs bioaccumulation is most likely associated to differences in morphological features and/or to specific bacterial communities associated to different species. The determination of Pb isotope ratios revealed mainly natural Pb sources for Mediterranean and Kilkieran Bay's samples, and rather anthropogenic influence for Belfast samples. This study confirms that sponges represent a powerful tool for biomonitoring studies.
•The study evaluates sponges as biomonitors of TE pollution in coastal environments•Intra and inter species TE variability were investigated for six species•Influence of sampling conditions, season and location variations were investigated•High TE accumulation and BCF were found for most of TE•Pb isotope ratios were determined to track lead sources