Pollution in the Bay of Bengal: Impact on Marine Ecosystem

Towhida Rashid¹, Sirajul Hoque², Sharmin Akter¹

¹Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
²Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

DOI: 10.4236/ojms.2015.51006                

Abstract

The study focused on heavy metal concentration in sea water, sea sediment and their toxic effect on sea shells, and on oyster along the east coast of the Bay of Bengal. The hierarchy of heavy metals in sea sediment of the bay showed as: Fe > Zn > Ni > Cr > Pb > Cd. The average concentration of nickel exceeded ERL (20.9 μg·g^-1) value and the incidence of adverse effects on biological components exceeded 16.7%. The present study showed that the concentration of Cd, Fe, Pb and Cu in sea water were relatively higher than the standard concentration. The study showed a considerable amount of heavy metals (0.035%) such as Zn, Pb, Cu, Fe, and Mg in sea shells, and oyster which may make them toxic. The toxic effect of Pb and Zn may reduce their growth which is a great threat to marine ecosystem.

Keywords

Bay of Bengal, Heavy Metal, Effects Range-Low (ERL), Effects Range-Medium (ERM), Marine Organisms

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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