Publication Date:
2023-02-08
Description:
Environmental pollutants might significantly affect the ecological integrity of coastal waters. Biological indicators like seaweeds have been used globally to assess water pollution. In the present work, the seaweed Ellisolandia elongata was used to evaluate the pollution status in coastal waters around Essaouira city. Three sites were chosen: One as reference station (S1) and two polluted ones (S2 and S3). Seaweed biodiversity, physiologic parameters of E. elongata, as well as, abiotic parameters were studied. Results showed that at the polluted stations, seaweed biodiversity was significantly lower than in S1. However, the concentrations of Total Suspended Solids, Electrical Conductivity, Biological Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Ammonium, and Orthophosphates at S2 were significantly higher than at S1. Metal content of E. elongata remained below detection limit at all stations except for Zn and Cu at S2 considered the most polluted station. With respect to the physiologic parameters, Proline, Glycine Betaine and Polyphenol contents at S2 were above, whereas, Chlorophyll a content and axis length were below those determined at the reference station. From the results it can be concluded that seaweed E. elongata could be a good indicator to determine organic pollution in marine ecosystems
Type:
Article
,
PeerReviewed
Format:
text
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