The study investigated the concentration of Lead, Cadmium, Nickels and Chromium in sediment and seagrass tissues at six selected sites along the Sudanese Red Sea coast. The findings of the study added some important and necessary information about the status and condition of the coastal environment in the Sudanese Red Sea coast in terms of the extent of pollution with heavy metals. The study sites included: Marsa Bashayer, Marsa Dama Dama, Green Area, Shipyard, Marsa Halout and Dungonab Bay. The Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer was used to measure Lead, Cadmium and Nickels. The colorimetric detection method was used for Chromium using the Spectrophotometer. Marsa Dama Dama site revealed high levels concentration of heavy metals in sediment for Lead (60.5) μg/g, Cadmium (0.22) μg/g and Chromium (146.65) μg/g. Marsa Halout showed the highest mean concentration of Nickel in sediment at 14 μg/g. The variation of concentration of metals in sediment between the sites was not significant. The mean concentration of metals in seagrass species tissues ranged from 3.9 to 26.25 μg/g for Lead, 0.1 to 0.90 μg/g for Cadmium, 0.38 to 5.96 μg/g for Nickel and 0.15 to 0.495 μg/g for Chromium. The differences of concentration of heavy metals in seagrass tissues among the sites were significant for Lead and not significant for Cadmium; Nickel and Chromium.
Kirkman, H. (1990) Seagrass Distribution and Mapping. In: Phillips, R.C. and Mc Roy, C.P., Eds., Seagrass Research Methods, UNESCO, Paris, 19-25.
English, S., Wilkinson, C. and Baker, V. (1997) Survey Manual for Tropical Marine Resources. Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, Townsville, 390 p.
Radke, L.C. (2000) Solute Divides and Chemical Facies in Southeastern Australian Salt Lakes and the Response of Ostracods in Time (Holocene) and Space. PhD Thesis, Department of Geology, The Australian National University, Canberra, 232 p.
Fonesca, M.S., Fisher, J.S. and Zieman, J.C. (1982) Influence of the Sea Grass, Zostera marina L., on Current Flow. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 15, 351-364. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-7714(82)90046-4
Sheppard, C., Price, A. and Roberts, C. (1992) Marine Ecology of the Arabian Region, Patterns and Processes in Extreme Tropical Environment. Academic Press Limited, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, London, 359 p.
Gaiballa, A.K. and Ali, O.M.M. (2023) Seagrass Species Composition and Distribution in Coastal Water of the Red Sea in the Sudan. International Journal of Novel Research in Life Sciences, 10, 52-60. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8300433
Gaiballa, A.K. and Ali, O.M.M. (2023) Composition, Distribution and Biometric Aspects of Seagrasses Beds along the Sudanese Red Sea Coast. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 11, 51-58. https://doi.org/10.22271/fish.2023.v11.i5a.2851
Lin, H., Sun, T., Xue, S. and Jiang, X. (2016) Heavy Metal Spatial Variation, Bioaccumulation, and Risk Assessment of Zostera japonica Habitat in the Yellow River Estuary, China. Science of the Total Environment, 541, 435-443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.09.050
Li, Y., Chen, F., Zhou, R., Zheng, X., Pan, K., Qiu, G., Wu, Z., Chen, S. and Wang, D. (2023) A Review of Metal Contamination in Seagrasses with an Emphasis on Metal Kinetics and Detoxification. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 454, Article ID: 131500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131500
Kirkman, H. and Kuo, J. (1990) A Study of the Role of the Seagrass Pasidonia australis in the Carbon Budget of an Estuary. Aquatic Botany, 7, 173-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3770(79)90020-2
Kirkman, H. (1996) Baseline and Monitoring Methods for Seagrass Meadows. Journal of Environmental Management, 47, 191-201. https://doi.org/10.1006/jema.1996.0045
Bonanno, G. and Raccuia, S.A. (2018) Comparative Assessment of Trace Element Accumulation and Bioindication in Seagrasses Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa and Halophila stipulacea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 131, 260-266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.04.039
Aljahdali, M.O. and Alhassan, A.B. (2020) Metallic Pollution and the Use of Antioxidant Enzymes as Biomarkers in Bellamya unicolor (Olivier, 1804) (Gastropoda: Bellamyinae). Water, 12, 202-215. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12010202
Youssef, M. and El-Sorogy, A. (2016) Environmental Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in Bottom Sediments of Al-Kharrar Lagoon, Rabigh, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 9, Article No. 474. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2498-3
Schlacher-Hoenlinger, M. and Schlacher, T. (1998) Accumulation, Contamination, and Seasonal Variability of Trace Metals in the Coastal Zone-Patterns in a Seagrass Meadow from the Mediterranean. Marine Biology, 131, 401-410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050333
Ambo-Rappe, R., Lajus, D.L. and Schreider, M.J. (2008) Higher Fluctuating Asymmetry: Indication of Stress on Anadara trapezia Associated with Contaminated Seagrass. Environmental Bioindicators, 3, 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/15555270701779460
Idris, A.M., Eltayeb, M.A.H., Potgieter-Vermaak, S.S., Grieken, R.V. and Potgieter, J.H. (2007) Assessment of Heavy Metals Pollution in Sudanese Harbours along the Red Sea Coast. Microchemical Journal, 87, 104-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2007.06.004
Allen, S.E., Parkinson, J.A. and Rowlands, A.P. (1974) Pollutants. In: Allen, S.E., Ed., Chemical Analysis of Ecological Materials, 2nd Edition, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, 201-239.
Bouchon, C., Lemoine, S., Dromard, C. and Bouchon-Navaro, Y. (2016) Level of Contamination by Metallic Trace Elements and Organic Molecules in the Seagrass Beds of Guadeloupe Island. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23, 61-72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5682-1
Shakkak, N.B.I. (1984) Assessment of Industrial Pollution: A Study Case in Port Sudan Town Coast. M.Sc. Thesis, Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, 130 p.
Tupan, C.I. and Uneputty, P.A. (2017) Concentration of Heavy Metals Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) in Water, Sediment and Seagrass Thalassia hemprichii in Ambon Island Waters. AACL Bioflux, 10, 1610-1617.
Aljahdali, M.O. and Alhassan, A.B. (2020) Heavy Metal Accumulation and Anti-Oxidative Feedback as a Biomarker in Seagrass Cymodocea serrulata. Sustainability, 12, Article No. 2841. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072841
Bazzi, A.O. (2014) Heavy Metals in Seawater, Sediments and Marine Organisms in the Gulf of Chabahar, Oman Sea. Journal of Oceanography and Marine Science, 5, 20-29. https://doi.org/10.5897/JOMS2014.0110
Bashir, A.A. (1989) Solid Waste Disposal on Coastal Zones, the Case Study of Port Sudan Harbour. M.Sc. Partial Thesis, Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, 145 p.
Haynes, D.B. (2001) Pesticides and Heavy Metals Concentration in Great Barrier Reef Sediment, Seagrasses and Dugongs (Dugong dugon). Ph.D. Partial Thesis, Botany Dept., University of Queensland, Brisbane, 79 p.
Brix, H., Lyngby, J.E. and Schierup, H. (1983) Eelgrass (Zostera marina) as Indicator Organism of Trace Metals in the Limfjord, Denmark. Marine Environmental Research, 8, 165-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/0141-1136(83)90049-1
Ambo-Rappe, R., Lajus, D.L. and Schreider, M.J. (2007) Translational Fluctuating Asymmetry and Leaf Dimension in Seagrass, Zostera capricorni Aschers in a Gradient of Heavy Metals. Environmental Bioindicators, 2, 99-116. https://doi.org/10.1080/15555270701457752
Langston, W.J. (1990) Toxic Effects of Heavy Metals and Incidence of Metal Pollution in Marine Ecosystems. In: Furness, R.W. and Rainbow, P.S., Eds., Heavy Metals in the Marine Environment, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 101-122. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781351073158-7
Govindasamy, C., Arulpriya, M., Ruban, P., Francisca, J.L. and Ilayaraja, A. (2011) Concentration of Heavy Metals in Seagrasses Tissue of the Palk Strait, Bay of Bengal. International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2, 145-153. https://doi.org/10.11594/jtls.02.01.01