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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Pollution
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1450396

Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Sediments and Their Impact on Macrobenthos in Asan Bay, South Korea

Provisionally accepted
Jian Liang Jian Liang 1Chae-Woo Ma Chae-Woo Ma 1*Kwang-Bae Kim Kwang-Bae Kim 2*
  • 1 Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea
  • 2 Gyeonggido Maritime and Fisheries Resources Research Institute, Ansan 15651, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Bay ecosystems with unique economic and ecological value are more vulnerable to heavy metal pollution than other marine ecosystems. In South Korea, rapid economic development has exacerbated heavy metal pollution in bay environments. This study analysed concentrations of seven heavy metals and macrobenthic communities in Asan Bay. Although average concentrations of seven heavy metals were below sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), the average concentration of Cd was close to the threshold effects level (TEL). The nemerow pollution index (Pn) and the potential ecological risk index (RI) indicated that Cd was the primary heavy metal contributing to ecological risk. Spearman correlation, biota-environment matching (BIO-ENV), and redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that heavy metals were main environmental factors influencing macrobenthic communities in Asan Bay. However, five heavy metal indices (PLI, Pn, RI, TRI, and MERMQ) did not show a response to the macrobenthic communities. Overall, low concentrations of heavy metals have a certain negative impact on macrobenthic communities. This study can serve as an important reference for marine environmental protection and policy-making in Asan Bay.

    Keywords: Ecological risk, heavy metal, Macrobenthic, sediment, Asan Bay 1. Introduction

    Received: 17 Jun 2024; Accepted: 24 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liang, Ma and Kim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Chae-Woo Ma, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea
    Kwang-Bae Kim, Gyeonggido Maritime and Fisheries Resources Research Institute, Ansan 15651, Republic of Korea

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