Metal Contamination Biomonitoring with Marine Macroalgae
A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2024) | Viewed by 1512
Special Issue Editors
Interests: heavy metals; macroalgae; biomonitoring; ecotoxicology; marine pollution
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Metal contamination in the marine environment has emerged as a major environmental concern globally. Metals (e.g., Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) and metalloids (As) have been discharged in large amounts into the marine environment without adequate environmental control as a result of human activities. These contaminants are toxic, persistent, and can be bioaccumulated and transferred through the marine food web, threatening the integrity of ecosystems and human health. As metal contamination results in the steady degradation of ecosystems, monitoring and assessment of the quality of the marine environment has become a global priority, with legislative measures and strategies to mitigate its impact and to protect and conserve ecosystems. Marine macroalgae have been widely used as biomonitors of marine contamination (including metals and organic pollutants, among others) since the middle of the 20th century. These organisms, especially brown macroalgae, are considered one of the most efficient and reliable metal biomonitors due to their ability to accumulate high levels of metals from the surrounding environment.
This Special Issue welcomes the submission of studies which deal with the use of marine macroalgae as biomonitors of metallic contamination based on different approaches, namely local/regional biomonitoring surveys using native macroalgae or transplants, studies relating seasonal/temporal variability with environmental variability and climate change, methodological improvements in monitoring techniques, bioaccumulation and biosorption experiments, etc. The submission of long-term field studies is highly encouraged. Particular attention will be paid to studies comparing the bioaccumulation capacity of different species and the mechanisms involved in metal binding/uptake processes.
Dr. Rita García Seoane
Dr. Claude Fortin
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- trace elements
- heavy metals
- marine macroalgae
- bioavailability
- metal toxicity
- bioaccumulation
- biosorption
- water quality
- aquatic pollution
- seawater contamination
