TY - JOUR
T1 - Ecological status and sources of anthropogenic contaminants in mangroves of the Wouri River Estuary (Cameroon)
AU - Fusi, Marco
AU - Beone, Gian Maria
AU - Suciu, Nicoleta Alina
AU - Sacchi, Angela
AU - Trevisan, Marco
AU - Capri, Ettore
AU - Daffonchio, Daniele
AU - Din, Ndongo
AU - Dahdouh-Guebas, Farid
AU - Cannicci, Stefano
N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01
Acknowledgements: Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO)
PY - 2016/7/7
Y1 - 2016/7/7
N2 - Mangroves are critically threatened by human activities, despite the important ecosystem functions and services they provide. Mangroves in Cameroon represent no exception to the worldwide trend of mangrove destruction, especially around Douala, on the Wouri river estuary. In two sites around Douala, we assessed the presence of sterols, PAHs, PCBs, DEHP, DDT and its metabolite p,p'-DDE and potentially toxic metals in sediment samples. As a proxy of ecological quality, we measured the diversity and abundance of macrobenthos assemblages. We detected p,p'-DDE contamination, with concentrations higher than 3μgkg-1 in 16 out of 26 samples which were attributed to recent widespread use of DDT. The detection of sterols revealed faecal contamination. Significant sensitivity of the macrobenthos to contaminants was revealed, with possible implications on the overall mangrove vulnerability to climate change and on the provision of ecosystem services to local populations. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.
AB - Mangroves are critically threatened by human activities, despite the important ecosystem functions and services they provide. Mangroves in Cameroon represent no exception to the worldwide trend of mangrove destruction, especially around Douala, on the Wouri river estuary. In two sites around Douala, we assessed the presence of sterols, PAHs, PCBs, DEHP, DDT and its metabolite p,p'-DDE and potentially toxic metals in sediment samples. As a proxy of ecological quality, we measured the diversity and abundance of macrobenthos assemblages. We detected p,p'-DDE contamination, with concentrations higher than 3μgkg-1 in 16 out of 26 samples which were attributed to recent widespread use of DDT. The detection of sterols revealed faecal contamination. Significant sensitivity of the macrobenthos to contaminants was revealed, with possible implications on the overall mangrove vulnerability to climate change and on the provision of ecosystem services to local populations. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/621432
UR - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0025326X16305094
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84979713896&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.104
DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.06.104
M3 - Article
C2 - 27394634
SN - 0025-326X
VL - 109
SP - 723
EP - 733
JO - Marine Pollution Bulletin
JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin
IS - 2
ER -
