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Distribution and risk of mercury in the sediments of mangroves along South China Coast

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Abstract

The importance of mangrove was widely reported. However, the potential risks of pollutants (e.g., Hg) accumulated in the mangroves are often ignored. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the distribution and risk of mercury (Hg) in the sediments of mangroves along South China Coast. Results showed that concentrations of total Hg ranged from 0.0815 to 0.6377 mg/kg, with an arithmetic mean value of 0.2503 mg/kg. The contamination index (Pi) showed mild pollution toxicity risks in NS, slight toxicity risks in DZG, QZ, SY, ND, GQ, TLG, and free pollutions in BMW, SJ, ZJK and BLHK. NS, DZG and SY scored the highest values of Igeo among the eleven mangrove regions studied, indicating moderate to heavy pollution inputs in these regions. As for the distribution of Hg in the sediments along tidal gradient, concentrations of Hg in the sediments sharply increased from seaward mudflat to landward mangrove, corresponding with the increases of TOC. In summary, the present data indicated that mangrove ecosystem is efficient in Hg reservoir. However, the potential ecological risks of Hg, especially in some mangrove regions easily affected by human activities, should be noted.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDA23050200, No. XDA13010500 and No. XDA13020503), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41676086, No.U1901211, No.41876126 and No.41430966), Science and Technology Basic Resources Investigation Program of China (No. 2017FY100707), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong province (No. 2014A030313783), Science and Technology Project of Guangdong province (No.2016A020222011), Guangdong special branch plans young talent with scientific and technological innovation (No.2016TQ03Z985), Guangzhou Science and Technology Project (No.20171001013) and the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 133244KYSB20180012), and Guizhou Education Department Young Scientific Talents Promoting Program (No.KY2016160). The authors show thanks to Yingxin Sun and Renjiang Chen for experimental supports and data collection.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 510301, Guangzhou, China

    Rui-Fei Ma, Hao Cheng, Aniefiok Inyang & You-Shao Wang

  2. Marine Biology Research Station at Daya Bay, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 518121, Shenzhen, China

    Rui-Fei Ma & You-Shao Wang

  3. College of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, 710119, Xi’an, China

    Rui-Fei Ma

  4. School of Chemistry and Eco-Environmental Engineering, Guizhou Minzu University, 550025, GuiYang, China

    Ming Wang

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  1. Rui-Fei Ma
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Ma, RF., Cheng, H., Inyang, A. et al. Distribution and risk of mercury in the sediments of mangroves along South China Coast. Ecotoxicology 29, 641–649 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-020-02238-9

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