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Biogeosciences Discuss., 9, 2623-2653, 2012
www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/9/2623/2012/ doi:10.5194/bgd-9-2623-2012 © Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |
The role of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica in the cycling of trace elements
1Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
2Marine Ecology Laboratory, Biology Department, University of Crete, P.O. Box 2208, 71409, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
3Department of Botany, School of Biology, University of Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 109, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
4Institute of Oceanography, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, P.O. Box 2214, 71003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
*now at: Dipartimento di Biologia, University of Pisa, CoNISMa, via Derna 1, Pisa 56126, Italy
Abstract. The aim of this work was to study the role of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica on the cycling of a wide set of trace elements (Ag, As, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sr, Tl, V and Zn). We measured the concentration of these trace elements in the different compartments of P. oceanica (leaves, rhizomes, roots and epibiota) in a non-polluted seagrass meadow representative of the Mediterranean and calculated the annual budget from a mass balance. We provide novel data on accumulation dynamics of many trace elements in P. oceanica compartments and demonstrate that trace element accumulation patterns are mainly determined by plant compartment rather than by temporal variability. Epibiota was the compartment which showed the greatest concentrations for most trace elements. Thus, they constitute a key compartment when estimating trace element transfer to higher trophic levels by P. oceanica. For most trace elements, translocation seemed to be low and acropetal. Zn, Cd, Sr and Rb were the trace elements that showed the highest release rate through decomposition of plant detritus, while Cs, Tl and Bi the lowest. P. oceanica acts as a sink of potentially toxic trace elements (Ni, Cr, As and Ag), which can be sequestered, decreasing their bioavailability. P. oceanica may have a relevant role in the cycling of trace elements in the Mediterranean.
Citation: Sanz-Lázaro, C., Malea, P., Apostolaki, E. T., Kalantzi, I., Marín, A., and Karakassis, I.: The role of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica in the cycling of trace elements, Biogeosciences Discuss., 9, 2623-2653, doi:10.5194/bgd-9-2623-2012, 2012.