1. Distribution of mercury in sediments, plant and animal tissues in Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Malaysia.
- Author
-
Wolswijk G, Satyanarayana B, Dung LQ, Siau YF, Ali ANB, Saliu IS, Fisol MAB, Gonnelli C, and Dahdouh-Guebas F
- Subjects
- Animals, Bivalvia chemistry, Environmental Monitoring, Gastropoda chemistry, Geologic Sediments chemistry, Malaysia, Plant Leaves chemistry, Plant Roots chemistry, Rhizophoraceae chemistry, Environmental Pollutants analysis, Mercury analysis, Wetlands
- Abstract
Charcoal production activities at the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR) in Peninsular Malaysia have a potential to emit volatile compounds such as Hg back into the ambient environment, raising concerns on the public health and safety. The present study was aimed at analyzing Hg concentration from different plant/animal tissues and sediment samples (in total 786 samples) to understand clearly the Hg distribution at the MMFR. Leaves of Rhizophora spp. showed higher Hg concentration with an increasing trend from young, to mature, to senescent and decomposing stages, which was possibly due to accumulation of Hg over time. The low Hg concentration in Rhizophora roots and bark suggests a limited absorption from the sediments and a meagre accumulation/partitioning by the plant tissue, respectively. In the case of mangrove cockles the concentration of Hg was lower than the permissible limits for seafood consumption. Although the mangrove gastropod - Cassidula aurisfelis Bruguière had rather elevated Hg in the muscle tissue, it is still less than the environmental safely limit. Beside the chances of atmospheric deposition for Hg, the sediment samples were found to be unpolluted in nature, indicating that in general the MMFR is still safe in terms of Hg pollution., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF