Metals in sediment, seagrass and gastropods near a nickel smelter in Greece: Possible interactions

Accumulation of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn was studied in the sediments, Cymodocea nodosa leaves, roots and stems and in two gastropods from an area adjacent to a ferro-nickel smelting plant and a control site on the east coast of Greece. In the sediment, the metals, with the exception of Cu, have significantly higher concentrations in the polluted than in the clean site. There is a tendency for C. nodosa tissues in the polluted area to have higher concentrations of metals although the differences are not always statistically significant. Co, Mn, Ni and Zn are in higher concentrations in the leaves than in the other tissues, a trend more obvious in the polluted site. Concentrations of metals in the viscera of the gastropods Cerithium vulgatum and Monodonta mutabilis are higher than in the muscle (except for Cd) and significantly higher in the animals from the polluted site. It is suggested that Mn is taken up from the water by C. nodosa leaves, which in the form of detritus enter C. vulgatum. Mn concentrates in the viscera of C. vulgatum in the form of granules. Zn follows the same route with additional amounts being taken by C. vulgatum directly from the water. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved