Posidonia oceanica and Zostera marina as Potential Biomarkers of Heavy Metal Contamination in Coastal Systems

In the early 1960s recognition of the adverse effects of environmental contamination due to industrial, pesticide, and agricultural pollution led to the emergence of the field of ecotoxicology (Ramade, 1992). Today, marine estuary and inshore ecosystems continue to be negatively impacted by environmental contamination (Short & Wyllie-Echeverria 1996; Orth et al., 2006; Osborn & Datta, 2006). In order to reduce these negative impacts, biosurveillance programs are needed to monitor environmental conditions so that changes in ecosystem processes, structure, and the physiological condition of species can be assessed (Blandin, 1986; Tett et al., 2007). An important characteristic of these programs is that indicator species must be capable of rapidly detecting significant changes in the ecosystem so that the cause of deterioration can be addressed early (e.g. Hemminga & Duarte, 2000).