BACKGROUND Within semi-closed areas like the Mediterranean Sea, anthropic wastes tend to concentrate in the environment. Metals, in particular, are known to persist in the environment and can affect human health due to accumulation in the food chain. The seagrass Posidonia oceanica, widely found in Mediterranean coastal waters, has been chosen as a "sentinel" to quantify the distribution of such pollutants within the marine environment. Using a technique similar to dendrochronology in trees, it can act as an indicator of pollutant levels over a timeframe of several months to years. In the present study, we measured and compared the levels of eight trace metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd, and Pb) in sheaths dated by lepidochronology and in leaves of shoots sampled from P. oceanica meadows collected from six offshore sites in northern Corsica between 1988 and 2004; in the aim to determine 1) the spatial and 2) temporal variations of these metals in these areas and 3) to compared these two types of tissues. RESULTS We found low trace metal concentrations with no increase over the last decade, confirming the potential use of Corsican seagrass beds as reference sites for the Mediterranean Sea. Temporal trends of trace metal concentrations in sheaths were not significant for Cr, Ni, Cu, As or Se, but Zn, Cd, and Pb levels decreased, probably due to the reduced anthropic use of these metals. Similar temporal trends between Cu levels in leaves (living tissue) and in sheaths (dead tissue) demonstrated that lepidochronology linked with Cu monitoring is effective for surveying the temporal variability of this metal. CONCLUSION Leaves of P. oceanica can give an indication of the metal concentration in the environment over a short time period (months) with good accuracy. On the contrary, sheaths, which gave an indication of changes over long time periods (decades), seem to be less sensitive to variations in the metal concentration in the environment. Changes in human consumption of metals (e.g., the reduction of Pb in fuel) are clearly reflected in both organs. These results confirm that P. oceanica is a good bioindicator of metals and a good biomonitor species for assessing Cu in the environment.

中文翻译：

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北科西嘉（西北地中海）的波西多尼亚大洋洲中的痕量金属浓度：用作生物监测仪吗？

背景技术在诸如地中海的半封闭区域中，人类废物倾向于集中在环境中。众所周知，特别是金属会在环境中持续存在，并由于食物链中的积累而影响人类健康。在地中海沿岸水域广泛发现的海草波塞冬藻已被选为量化海洋环境中此类污染物分布的“前哨”。使用类似于树木年轮年代学的技术，它可以充当几个月到几年时间范围内污染物水平的指标。在本研究中，我们测量并比较了按年代学年代的鞘和从P采样的芽叶中的八种痕量金属（Cr，Ni，Cu，Zn，As，Se，Cd和Pb）的水平。1988年至2004年间，从可西嘉岛北部的六个近海站点采集的大洋草甸；为了确定1）这些金属在这些区域中的空间变化和2）时间变化，以及3）比较这两种类型的组织。结果我们发现痕量金属的浓度较低，在过去十年中没有增加，证实了科西嘉海草床作为地中海参考地点的潜在用途。对于Cr，Ni，Cu，As或Se，鞘中痕量金属浓度的时间趋势不明显，但Zn，Cd和Pb含量下降，可能是由于减少了人类对这些金属的使用。叶片（活组织）和鞘（死组织）中铜水平之间的相似时空趋势表明，与铜监测相关的钩针年代学对调查这种金属的时变性是有效的。结论大洋假叶可以在短时间内（数月）以良好的精度指示环境中的金属浓度。相反，指示长时间（数十年）变化的护套似乎对环境中金属浓度的变化较不敏感。人类对金属消耗的变化（例如，燃料中铅的减少）清楚地反映在两个器官中。这些结果证实，海洋假单胞菌是金属的良好生物指示剂和用于评估环境中铜的良好生物监测物种。似乎对环境中金属浓度的变化不太敏感。人类对金属消耗的变化（例如，燃料中铅的减少）清楚地反映在两个器官中。这些结果证实，海洋假单胞菌是金属的良好生物指示剂和用于评估环境中铜的良好生物监测物种。似乎对环境中金属浓度的变化不太敏感。人类对金属消耗的变化（例如，燃料中铅的减少）清楚地反映在两个器官中。这些结果证实，海洋假单胞菌是金属的良好生物指示剂和用于评估环境中铜的良好生物监测物种。