Abstract
Three transects were established along the southwestern coast of Taiwan; transects from north to south were respectively extended from the Kaohsiung Harbor, Kaoping River estuary, and Fangshan River estuary. Six metals including Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Ni were analyzed in the zooplankton and seawater samples. A total of 24 groups of zooplankton were identified. Calanoid was the frequently collected group and accounted for greater than 40% of the relative abundance of zooplankton. Results showed that metal concentrations in seawater close to coast were higher than those in the outside of transect. The mean of metal concentrations in zooplankton followed the hierarchy: Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cr > Cd. On the whole, metal concentrations in zooplankton from sampling sites in the coastal region were observed to be higher than those in the offshore region. The bioconcentration factor of zooplankton ranged within 103–105 for all studied metals and indicated that zooplankton in the seawater of southwestern Taiwan can accumulate metal even at background concentrations of metals. The value of diversity indices exhibited an increase in the distance to the coast, whereas the abundance showed no significant correlation with that. Consequently, the lowest mean abundance of zooplankton and the highest average metal bioaccumulation were found in transect outside Kaohsiung Harbor, representing that Kaohsiung Harbor has the contamination of anthropogenic metals that results in the impact on zooplankton.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Almeda R, Wambaugh Z, Wang Z, Hyatt C, Liu Z, Buskey EJ (2013) Interactions between zooplankton and crude oil: toxic effects and bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. PLoS One 8:e67212
Badsi H, Oulad Ali H, Loudiki M, Aamiri A (2012) Phytoplankton diversity and community composition along the salinity gradient of the Massa estuary. Am J Hum Ecol 1:58–64
Battuello M, Brizio P, Mussat Sartor R, Nurra N, Pessani D, Abete MC, Squadrone S (2016) Zooplankton from a North Western Mediterranean area as a model of metal transfer in a marine environment. Ecol Indic 66:440–451
Brewer DT, Morello EB, Griffiths S, Fry G, Heales D, Apte SC, Venables WN, Rothlisberg PC, Moeseneder C, Lansdell M, Pendrey R, Coman F, Strzelecki J, Jarolimek CV, Jung RF, Richardson AJ (2012) Impacts of gold mine waste disposal on a tropical pelagic ecosystem. Mar Pollut Bull 64:2790–2806
Calbet A, Schmoker C, Russo F, Trottet A, Mahjoub MS, Larsen O, Tong HY, Drillet G (2016) Non-proportional bioaccumulation of trace metals and metalloids in the planktonic food web of two Singapore coastal marine inlets with contrasting water residence times. Sci Total Environ 560–561:284–294
Chen CF, Dong CD, Chen CW (2013) Evaluation of sediment toxicity in Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan. Soil Sediment Contam 22:301–314
Chen CF, Ju YR, Chen CW, Dong CD (2016) Vertical profile, contamination assessment, and source apportionment of heavy metals in sediment cores of Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan. Chemosphere 165:67–79
Chen CW, Kao CM, Chen CF, Dong CD (2007) Distribution and accumulation of heavy metals in the sediments of Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan. Chemosphere 66:1431–1440
Chen YM, Li HC, Tsao TM, Wang LC, Chang Y (2014) Some selected heavy metal concentrations in water, sediment, and oysters in the Er-Ren estuary, Taiwan: chemical fractions and the implications for biomonitoring. Environ Monit Assess 186:7023–7033
Chung CH, You CF, Chu HY (2009) Weather sources in the Gaoping (Kaoping) river catchment, southwestern Taiwan: insights from major elements, Sr isotopes, and rare earth elements. J Mar Syst 76:433–443
Depledge MH, Bjerregaard P (1989) Haemolymph protein composition and copper levels in decapod crustaceans. Helgoländer Meeresun 43:207–223
Dong CD, Chen CF, Ju YR, Chen CW (2016) Metal pollution and ecological risk assessment in the surface sediments of Anping Harbor, Taiwan. Desalin Water Treat 57:29274–29285
Dong CD, Chen CW, Chen CF (2013) Distribution, enrichment, accumulation and potential ecological risks of mercury in the sediments of Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan. Chem Ecol 29:693–708
Dvorersky VG, Dvorersky AG (2014) The biodiversity of zooplankton communities of the west arctic seas. Russ J Mar Biol 40:95–99
Everaarts JM, Heesters R, Fisher CV (1993) Heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) in sediment, zooplankton and epibenthic invertebrates from the sea of the continental slope of the Banc d’Arguin (Mauretania). Hydrobiologia 258:41–58
Fang TH, Hwang JS, Hsiao SH, Chen HY (2006) Trace metals in seawater and copepods in the ocean outfall area off the northern Taiwan coast. Mar Environ Res 61:224–243
Fernández-Severini MD, Hoffmeyer MS, Marcovecchio JE (2013) Heavy metals concentrations in zooplankton and suspended particulate matter in a southwestern Atlantic temperate estuary (Argentina). Environ Monit Assess 185:1495–1513
Gagneten AM, Paggi JC (2009) Effects of heavy metal contamination (Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd) and eutrophication on zooplankton in the lower basin of the Salado River (Argentina). Water Air Soil Pollut 198:317–334
Gulati RD, Bodar CW, Schuurmans AL, Faber JA, Zandee DI (1988) Effects of cadmium exposure on feeding of freshwater planktonic crustaceans. Comp Biochem Physiol C 90:335–340
Hsiao SH, Hwang JS, Fang TH (2011) Copepod species and their trace metal contents in coastal northern Taiwan. J Mar Syst 88:232–238
Hutchins DA, Bruland KW (1994) Grazer-mediated regeneration and assimilation of Fe, Zn, and Mn from planktonic prey. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 110:259–269
Johnson CL, Runge JA, Curtis KA, Durbin EG, Hare JA, Incze LS, Link JS, Melvin GD, O’Brien TD, Van Guelpen L (2011) Biodiversity and ecosystem function in the Gulf of Maine: pattern and role of zooplankton and pelagic nekton. PLoS One 6:e16491
Jose EC, Furio EF, Borja VM, Gatdula NC, Santos MD (2015) Zooplankton composition and abundance and its relationship with physico-chemical parameter in Manila Bay. Oceanography 3:136
Ju YR, Chen CW, Chen CF, Chuang XY, Dong CD (2017) Assessment of heavy metals in aquaculture fishes collected from southwest coast of Taiwan and human consumption risk. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 124:314–325
Kahle J, Zauke GP (2003) Trace metals in Antarctic copepods from the Weddell Sea (Antarctica). Chemosphere 51:409–417
Lee CL, Fang MD, Hsieh MT (1998) Characterization and distribution of metals in surficial sediments in Southwestern Taiwan. Mar Pollut Bull 36:464–471
Lin S, Hsieh I-J, Huang K-M, Wang C-H (2002) Influence of the Yangtze River and grain size on the spatial variations of heavy metals and organic carbon in the East China Sea continental shelf sediments. Chem Geol 182:377–394
Lo WT, Shih CT, Hwang JS (2004) Diel vertical migration of the planktonic copepods at an upwelling station north of Taiwan, western North Pacific. J Plankton Res 26:89–97
Maceda-Veiga A, Monroy M, Navarro E, Viscor G, de Sostoa A (2013) Metal concentrations and pathological responses of wild native fish exposed to sewage discharge in a Mediterranean river. Sci Total Environ 449:9–19
Marsden ID, Rainbow PS (2004) Does the accumulation of trace metals in crustaceans affect their ecology—the amphipod example? J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 300:373–408
Nugegoda D, Rainbow PS (1989) Zinc uptake rate and regulation breakdown in the decapod crustacean Palaemon elegans Rathke. Ophelia 30:199–212
Rainbow PS (2002) Trace metal concentrations in aquatic invertebrates: why and what? Environ Pollut 120:497–507
Rejomon G, Dinesh Kumar PK, Nair M, Muraleedharan KR (2009) Trace metal dynamics in zooplankton from the Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon. Environ Toxicol 25:622–633
Smail EA, Webb EA, Franks RP, Bruland KW, Sañudo-Wilhelmy SA (2012) Status of metal contamination in surface waters of the coastal ocean off Los Angeles, California since the implementation of the Clean Water Act. Environ Sci Technol 46:4304–4311
Sunda WG (2012) Feedback interactions between trace metal nutrients and phytoplankton in the ocean. Front Microbiol 3:204
Usero J, Gozalez-Regalado E, Graccia I (1997) Trace metals in the bivalve molluscs Ruditapes decussatus and Ruditapes philippinarum from the Atlantic coast of southern Spain. Environ Int 23:291–298
Vaidya SR (2017) Biomonitoring of zooplankton to assess the quality of water in the nagpokhari of Kathmandu valley. Int J. Zool Stud 2:61–65
Wang WX, Fisher NS (1998) Accumulation of trace elements in a marine copepod. Limnol Oceanogr 43:273–283
Xu J, Zhang M (2012) Primary consumers as bioindicator of nitrogen pollution in lake planktonic and benthic food webs. Ecol Indic 14:189–196
Zhang Y, Lu X, Wang N, Xin M, Geng S, Jia J, Meng Q (2016) Heavy metals in aquatic organisms of different trophic levels and their potential human health risk in Bohai Bay, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:17801–17810
Funding
This work was supported by the NKMU-NSYSU Joint Research Project (no. 106-18).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ju, YR., Lo, WT., Chen, CF. et al. Effect of metals on zooplankton abundance and distribution in the coast of southwestern Taiwan. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 33722–33731 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2169-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2169-x