Heavy metals distribution
and assessment in coral reefs of area between
Quseir and Hamata, Red Sea, Egypt
Accepted 13th
February, 2018
M. Nageeb Rashed1*,
Hashem A. Madkour2 and Shimaa H. Mohammed3
1Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Egypt. 2National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Red Sea Branch,
84511 Hurghada, Egypt. 3Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, Red Sea protectorates, Marsa
Alam Office, Egypt.
Concentrations of seven
heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni and Co)
were measured by Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometry (AAS) during summer and winter
in four species of coral reefs (
Stylophora
pistillata, Acropora humilis, Porites solida
and
Platygyera daedalea)
at six sites along the Red Sea coasts: I (Shouni),
II (Asalaya), III (Tondoba), IV (Wadi El Gemal),
V (Abu Ghsoon) and VI (Hamata). The studied
heavy metal contents were measured in the hard
skeleton of the coral reef species. The results
showed the highest values of Fe, Mn and Pb in
the different coral reef species which are
strongly attributed to the land filling and the
different anthropogenic impacts in the locality.
Also, the results were compared with those of
the other studies conducted in other areas of
the Red Sea and the world, as well as, the
existing guidelines of metals. Some heavy metal
concentrations in coral reefs in the study areas
are higher compared to that in the impact areas
of the Egyptian Red Sea coast. The highest metal
contents in the different species are strongly
attributed to natural inputs, landfilling and
the different anthropogenic impacts in the study
areas.
Key words:
Coral reef, heavy metals, pollution, Red Sea,
Egypt.
This is an open access article
published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Cite this article as:
Rashed MN, Madkour HA, Mohammed SH (2018). Heavy metals distribution and
assessment in coral reefs of area between Quseir and Hamata, Red Sea, Egypt.
Acad. J. Environ. Sci. 6(2): 037-046.
