Assessment of Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals and Their Ecological Risk in Sea Lettuce (Ulva spp.) along the Coast Alexandria, Egypt: Implications for Sustainable Management

Abstract

The pollution of aquatic ecosystems is an issue facing many countries all over the world and may result in issues such as eutrophication in coastal zones. Managing this eutrophication is a real challenge. The current study focuses on the investigation and identification of aquatic environmental characteristics, including the sediments, waters, and seaweed, of seven eutrophicated locations along the Mediterranean coast of Alexandria (Egypt). Different ecological risk assessment and bioaccumulation factors were calculated in order to identify the probable pollution source and the degree of the problem, in addition to the accumulation of heavy metals in the seaweed. The characteristics of the seaweed, sediments, and waters were chemically analyzed and heavy metals were measured. The genetically and biochemically identified seaweed species were Ulva compressa, Ulva fasciata, Ulva lactuca and Ulva linzea. The sediments of the El-Tabia location contained the highest concentrations of Cd, Co, Ni, and Pb, because this location receives these elements from the El-Amia drain. The Abu Qir location was found to contain the highest concentrations of the same heavy metals in the studied water samples because it was located much closer to the Abu Qir harbor. Ecological risk assessment indices indicated moderate to high contamination for most of the studied elements and locations. The results of the bioaccumulation factor analysis indicated that the studied seaweed species are accumulators of trace elements. These seaweed species should be further investigated concerning ecotoxicology if they are to be used in the human diet and for other benefits. This study opens many windows of research to be investigated in the future regarding the sustainable management of polluted coastal zones.