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Marine organisms as heavy metal bioindicators in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman

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An Erratum to this article was published on 17 November 2013

Abstract

In the present study, cadmium and lead concentrations were compared in barnacles, ghost shrimps, polychaetes, bivalves, and sediment from ten different locations along the intertidal zone of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. The results revealed significant differences in the heavy metal concentrations between the organisms with barnacles showing, by far, the highest metal concentrations. The bioaccumulation factor of Cd in different animals follows this pattern with barnacles > bivalves > polychaetes > ghost shrimps, while the pattern for Pb was barnacles > polychaetes > bivalves > ghost shrimps. In most of the stations, sediments showed the lowest lead and cadmium concentrations. Therefore, it is concluded that barnacles with Pb concentrations between 0.17 and 2,016.1 μg/g and Cd concentrations ranging from 0.4 to 147.1 μg/g are the best organisms to be employed in monitoring programs designed to assess pollution with bioavailable metals in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Department of Environment of Iran and the University of Tehran for financial support and Mr. Abbas Kazemi for his help during the specimen collections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Science, University of Tehran, Enghelab Ave., Tehran, Iran

    E. Amoozadeh, M. Malek, R. Rashidinejad & H. Salehi

  2. Department of Marine Biology, University of Marine Science and Technology, Khoramshahr, Iran

    S. Nabavi

  3. Marine Division, Department of Environment, Tehran, Iran

    M. Karbassi, R. Ghayoumi & G. Ghorbanzadeh-Zafarani

  4. Department of Aquatic Ecology and Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), University of Duisburg, Essen, Germany

    B. Sures

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  1. E. Amoozadeh
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  2. M. Malek
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  3. R. Rashidinejad
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  4. S. Nabavi
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  5. M. Karbassi
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  8. H. Salehi
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  9. B. Sures
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Correspondence to M. Malek.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Amoozadeh, E., Malek, M., Rashidinejad, R. et al. Marine organisms as heavy metal bioindicators in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 2386–2395 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1890-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1890-8

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