Uptake of Heavy Metals by Marine Aquatic Macrophytes

Abstract

The potential of algae to accumulate heavy metals in marine environments was studied. The aim is to study the accumulation of Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, and Mg in algal biomass that grows in the Little Bitter Lake, Egypt. Consequently, the level of metals in twelve different algal species was studied extensively. The investigated algae belong to Green, Brown, and Red algae. The investigation includes the influence of seasonal variation on the rate of heavy metals accumulation by algae. Meanwhile, levels of metals in the Lake water were also assessed. The results indicated differences between the metal concentration and the different algal species. Furthermore, differences were also found in the levels of different metals within the studied algae. The overall results showed that the highest accumulation rate was exhibited by Red algae followed by Green and then Brown algal species. Correlation between the level of metals in the Lake Water and the studied algal species was conducted to determine the concentration factors for each metal. It was concluded that the bioaccumulation of heavy metals by aquatic algae is an indication of the availability of those metals within the aquatic environment.