Ecological risk assessment of trace metals in the surface sediments of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman: Evidence from subtropical estuaries of the Iranian coastal waters.
This study aimed to investigate the ecological risk assessment of Khamir, Tiyab, and Jagin estuaries and the impact of anthropogenic activities on these ecosystems during a one-year study period (April 2015 to March 2016) using trace metals as pollution indices. The sediment samples were collected from nine sampling stations, following a gradient of contamination from the industrial wastewater and shrimp farming effluents to the less impacted stations. Pollution indices (i.e. PERI and PLI) were applied to ascertain the sediment quality. Based on pollution indices, the overall pattern of environmental quality status demonstrated that industrial sewage and shrimp farming effluents are major sources of pollution in the Khamir and Tiyab estuaries, respectively. The sediments in the most stations in studied coastal ecosystems of Iran posed moderate or considerable ecological risk. Results from this study showed that Zn, Pb, Cu, and Cd were mostly derived from anthropogenic activities such as domestic sewage and industrial effluents. Also, the findings of this study revealed that the pollution indices are suitable for evaluating the environmental situation of coastal ecosystems and the separation of areas with less impacted by human activities from areas affected by these activities and could be used as a robust management tool for monitoring programs in coastal areas. Altogether, these findings could be useful in providing more effective and targeted strategies of development better management practices for coastal areas.
['Sharifinia|Moslem|M|', 'Taherizadeh|Mohammadreza|M|', 'Namin|Javid Imanpour|JI|', 'Kamrani|Ehsan|E|']
D000383:Agriculture D004463:Ecology D017753:Ecosystem D004784:Environmental Monitoring D063366:Estuaries D019015:Geologic Sediments D019156:Indian Ocean D007492:Iran D019216:Metals, Heavy D009850:Oman D018570:Risk Assessment D012722:Sewage D014131:Trace Elements D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
Ecological risk assessment Trace metals Pollution indices Organic matter Shrimp farms impact