Polycarpa aurata as biomonitor to assess potential toxic elements across the Coral Triangle
Turicchia, Eva, Ercadi, Riccardo, Tamburini, Marco, Badocco, Denis, Zampa, Greta, Gasparini, Fabio, Ballarin, Loriano, Guerra, Roberta, Lasut, Markus T., Makapedua, Daisy M., Mamuaja, Jane, Schaduw, Joshian N.W., Tumbol, Reiny A., Pastore, Paolo, and Ponti, Massimo (2025) Polycarpa aurata as biomonitor to assess potential toxic elements across the Coral Triangle. Coral Reefs, 45. pp. 211-229.
|
PDF (Published Version)
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (5MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by multiple stressors, including pollution from potentially toxic trace elements (PTEs) released in the environment by many human activities, like widespread industrial and artisanal/small-scale gold mines (ASGMs), especially in the Coral Triangle. In the present study, concentration of 12 PTEs (Al, As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Hg, Fe, Mn, Mo, Sb, V, and Zn) in suspended particulate matter and their bioaccumulation in tissues (tunic and body without tunic) of the ascidian Polycarpa aurata were investigated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry at four putative impact sites, downstream of four mining areas with different industrial and ASGM activities, and at four control sites in the North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Compared to control sites, P. aurata significantly accumulates Hg, Cu, and V in the tunic and, with higher values, Hg, Cu, Mo, and Cr (respectively, up to 3.35 ± 0.71, 12.63 ± 1.52, 9.58 ± 1.48, and 1.60 ± 0.47 μg g<sup>−1</sup>) in the rest of the body, especially in the presence of less regulated mining activities (i.e., ASGMs). Mercury showed a bioaccumulation factor for suspended particulate matter greater than 1 at all sites. As a combination of easy-to-recognize and sample, widespread, and very abundant throughout the Coral Triangle, an efficient filter feeder resistant to pollution, very effective in accumulating potentially toxic trace elements, especially mercury, copper, and chromium, P. aurata may be considered as an ideal biomonitor organism. To measure PTEs contamination, this species should be included in monitoring programs throughout the Coral Triangle by developing a proper standard protocol.
| Item ID: | 88687 |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1432-0975 |
| Keywords: | Artisanal mines, Golden sea squirt, Heavy metals, Indo-Pacific ocean, Monitoring, Pollution |
| Copyright Information: | © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Jun 2026 00:38 |
| FoR Codes: | 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180504 Marine biodiversity @ 100% |
| More Statistics |
Actions (Repository Staff Only)
 |
Item Control Page |