ExPERIMENTAL AND FIELD STUDY ON ACCUMULATION OF HEAVY METALS IN SEAGRASSES (Halodule pinifolia and Halophila minor) IN SETIU WETLAND, TERENGGANU
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Date
2008
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Sustainability Science and Management
Abstract
The aims of this study were: (i) to determine the content of copper and cadmium into
seagrass Halodule pinifolia and Halophila minor from the Setiu Wetland and Setiu River estuary,
Terengganu and (ii) to study the bioaccumulation response of the seagrass towards the metals. The
contents of the two metals in leaves and root-rhizomes of the seagrasses collected from the feld
study samples were determined. in laboratory experiments, the two seagrass were exposed to sediments
spiked with four different concentrations of copper (56.44 µg/g, 112.87 µg/g, 225.74 µg/g and
451.49 µg/g) or cadmium (36.00 µg/g, 72.00 µg/g, 144.00 µg/g and 288.00 µg/g). The exposure
period was for 8 weeks during which plants were sampled weekly and the metal concentrations in
leaves and root-rhizomes determined.
The content of heavy metals was measured by aaS. Pearson Correlation were used to determine
the relationship between the accumulation of heavy metals in root-rhizomes and leaves. in
the exposure experiments, Cu and Cd were bioaccumulated, with tissue concentration generally
increased with duration of exposure and increase in sediment metal concentrations. Metal concentrations
in root-rhizomes were higher than in leaves for both species. in Halodule pinifolia, the mean copper
in root-rhizomes and leaves were 120.86 ± 6.79 µg/g and 96.99 ± 8.58 µg/g respectively while the
mean cadmium concentration in root-rhizomes was 38.40 ± 4.71 µg/g and in leaves was 36.08 ±
3.21 µg/g. In Halophila minor, the mean copper concentration in root-rhizomes and leaves were
49.53 ± 7.67 µg/g and 35.40 ± 6.52 µg/g respectively. The mean cadmium concentration in rootrhizomes was 30.34 ± 3.15 µg/g and in leaves was 29.71 ± 2.64 µg/g. Generally, the metals in rootrhizomes showed strong correlation with the metals in leaves. Halodule pinifolia and Halophila
minor exposed to high concentrations of copper were dead in week 4 and 5 respectively, while
exposure to high concentrations of cadmium resulted in death of plants in week 4. oxygen produced
by both seagrass species also began showed negative values in week 4. For the feld study, the highest
concentrations of Cd and Cu in Halodule pinifolia and Halophila minor were found for the month
of October 2004 and month of November respectively.
Description
Keywords
Halodule pinifolia, Halophila minor, heavy metals, Root-rhizomes, leaves