Abstract
Rapid industrialization in the State of Kuwait caused unprecedented pollution in the marine environment over the recent years. Studies on the effect of mercury (Hg) was least evidenced when compared to other trace metals in Echinometra mathaei, sea urchin collected from the Al-Fintas (Site-A) and Mina Abduallah (Site-B), Southern Kuwait. Reasons were attributed to (a) seasonal restriction of sea urchin abundance, (b) their low mercury concentrations in the Coastal waters (c) analytical imperfection and sensitivity of the instrumentation. In this study, the instrumental lacunae were overcome by using direct mercury analyzer (DMA-80, Milestone, Italy) which yielded consistent and reproducible Hg concentrations in all the samples. In nature, high Hg concentrations were observed in the seawater at 23 °C > 15 °C > 12 °C irrespective of the sites although the total mean Hg concentration was high in Site-A over Site-B. The 96 h and 180 d exposed E. mathaei to LC50 toxicity, and bioaccumulation tests revealed high Hg concentrations in E. mathaei in relation to differential temperature in the sequence of 15 °C > 23 °C > 12 °C with minimal fluctuation of the hydrological parameters. Season-wise analysis showed high Hg concentrations in both the seawater and sea urchin body parts during the winter seasons compared to the summer season and irrespective of the two sites. Thus, this study recommends possible Hg mitigation that affects the socioeconomic condition of the marine resources besides, labeling the sea urchin as a bio-monitoring tool to Hg pollution.
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The authors wish to thank all who assisted in conducting this work.
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This work was supported by the College of Graduate Studies, Kuwait University and Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, Grant No. PN17-44SC02.
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Fatimah Al-Qattan and BV Thomas contributed to conceptualization, Fatimah Al-Qattan contributed to methodology, Fatimah Al-Qattan contributed to formal analysis and investigation, Fatimah Al-Qattan contributed to writing—original draft preparation, BV Thomas contributed to writing—review and editing, AH Bu-Olayan contributed to funding acquisition, Fatimah Al-Qattan contributed to resources, AH Bu-Olayan contributed to supervision.
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The study is approved by the review committee on projects, Research Administration (RA), Kuwait University on marine organisms. All study methods were followed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations set by the Kuwait Environmental Authority (KEPA).
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Editorial responsibility: Samareh Mirkia.
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Al-Qattan, F.K., Bu-Olayan, A.H. & Thomas, B.V. Effect of mercury upon sporadic variations of sea urchin, Echinometra mathaei in the marine environment. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 19, 11323–11332 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03876-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-021-03876-0