Evaluation of the ecological effects of heavy metals on the assemblages of benthic foraminifera of the canals of Aveiro (Portugal)

Aveiro is a town with 80,000 inhabitants situated in the central west coast of Portugal. It is located at the centre of the Ria de Aveiro, a coastal lagoon that functions as a multi-estuarine area. This town is crossed by several canals which are connected with lagoon channels through canal locks. The operation of the canal locks influences the hydro dynamism in Aveiro's canal and this and other human activities have left a sedimentary record. The study of these records was based on the sediments grain size and composition, mineralogy (by XRD techniques), geochemical (by ICP-MS), total organic carbon (TOC), and microfaunal (benthic foraminifera) content in 15 grab-samples collected in 2006 in Aveiro's canal. The total elemental concentrations evaluated by total digestion of the sediment fraction <2000 μm revealed the presence of “hot spots” of pollution caused by heavy metal contaminants in some Aveiro canals, related to legacies of past industrial activities. These “hot spots” have, for instance, higher available concentrations of Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn and Zn (evaluated by sequential chemical extractions) and are located in Paraíso, Alboi, Botirões and Cojo Canals, at sites where the sediments are finer and richer in TOC. Abiotic and biotic variables submitted to principal component analysis and cluster analysis highlights the hydrodynamics and human effects on the system and the negative influence of pollutants on the benthic organisms (foraminifera).