Effects of fiddler crab bioturbation on the geochemical migration and bioavailability of heavy metals in coastal wetlands

Pan，Feng1; Xiao，Kai2; Guo，Zhanrong1; Li，Hailong2

2022-09-05

10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129380

JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS   Impact Factor & Quartile

0304-3894

1873-3336

Fiddler crabs, found in coastal wetlands worldwide, function as ecosystem engineers. Their burrowing activity can significantly alter biogeochemistry at the local scale, however, the mobility of heavy metals (HMs) in burrow sediments remains unclear. Here, we used diffusive gradients in thin-film probes to obtain bioavailable Fe and HMs (Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb, Co, and Mo) in crab burrows from coastal wetlands (mudflats, salt marshes, and mangroves). The depth-profile results showed that most HMs were enriched at shallow and deep depths but deficient at middle depths. We highlighted that bioturbation improved oxic conditions, enhanced HM concentrations, and favored dissolved HM retention in burrow sediments, which served as a sink for overlying water HMs via burrow flushing but a potential source of particle HMs via enhanced resuspension. In deep anoxic layers, Fe(III) reduction drove the remobilization of HMs, except Cu and Mo, leading to the co-release of HMs with Fe. This Fe-HM coupling/decoupling was verified using enhanced two-dimensional high-resolution imaging, which revealed highly spatial heterogeneity of multiple HMs. Moreover, the hydrological conditions regulating bioturbation effects on HM behavior varied across different coastal wetlands. With coastal environmental changes, the key role of ubiquitous bioturbation in HM migration and bioavailability should be reconsidered.

Bioturbation Crab burrow Sediment-water interface Heavy metals Coastal habitat

SCI ; EI

English

Corresponding

National Natural Science Foundation of China["42177046","42106038"]

Engineering ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology

Engineering, Environmental ; Environmental Sciences

WOS:000833540400003

ELSEVIER

20222612297701

Biochemistry ; Iron compounds ; Sediments ; Wetlands

Soil Mechanics and Foundations:483 ; Metallurgy and Metallography:531 ; Biochemistry:801.2

ENGINEERING

2-s2.0-85132877189

Web of Science

1.College of Ocean and Earth Sciences,Xiamen University,Xiamen,361102,China
2.State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Integrated Surface Water-Groundwater Pollution Control,School of Environmental Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,Guangdong,518055,China

Pan，Feng,Xiao，Kai,Guo，Zhanrong,et al. Effects of fiddler crab bioturbation on the geochemical migration and bioavailability of heavy metals in coastal wetlands[J]. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS,2022,437.

Pan，Feng,Xiao，Kai,Guo，Zhanrong,&Li，Hailong.(2022).Effects of fiddler crab bioturbation on the geochemical migration and bioavailability of heavy metals in coastal wetlands.JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS,437.

Pan，Feng,et al."Effects of fiddler crab bioturbation on the geochemical migration and bioavailability of heavy metals in coastal wetlands".JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 437(2022).