PT20 Ecotoxicology of Tropical Aquatic Environments
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday
(PT289) Comparisons of Heavy Metal Concentrations in Seagrasses and Sediments from Bahia Magdalena, B.C.S, Mexico.
Schollee, J1, Valenzuela, M1, Baird, L1, Boudrias, M1, Bolender, J1, 1 University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
ABSTRACT- Heavy metals are known pollutants in aquatic environments. Other studies appear to show that Bahia Magdalena, in Baja California Sur, has naturally high concentrations of several heavy metals throughout the bay. This project is focused on determining the distribution of these metals in seagrasses and sediments on a transect originating at a known point source of organic pollution. The major goals of this project are to compare metal concentrations in shoots and roots of the seagrasses with concentrations in the adjacent sediments, and to determine if the organic loading from the point source impacts the concentrations of metals along the transect. Total metal ion concentrations are determined for seagrass and sediment samples by digestion and analyzed by Atomic Absorption spectroscopy for copper, chromium, lead, zinc, and iron. We will present results that compare January 2004 and May 2004 sampling periods.
Key words: Seagrasses, Metals, Sediments, Pollution