Trace metal levels in sandy beach Polychaetes
of Monterey Bay, California
W. Allen Shotwell
Hopkins Marine Station
of Stanford University
Introduction
Studies of trace metal levels in marine organisms have
shown that toxic metals such as cadmium, lead and mercury are
concentrated by many marine organisms (reviews by Vinogradov,
1953; Goldberg, 1965). Except for the studies of Bryan and
Hummerstone (1971) on tolerance levels in Nereis diversicolor
(Müller), Cross et al. (1970) on manganese, iron and zinc in
estuarine polychaetes, and Phelps (1966) on iron, zinc,
scandium and samarium, no research has been initiated on
trace elements in polychaetes. This study is an investigation
of levels of nickel, copper, cadmium, lead, iron, zinc and
manganese in six species of typical beach polychaetes of
Monterey Bay. Specific sampling sites were chosen so that
known point sources of pollution in south Monterey Bay might
be included in the survey.
Materials and methods
Collection sites on seven beaches in south Monterey Bay
(Fig. 1) in an area extending from Hopkins Marine Station to
Holiday Inn were chosen for study. These included the boat
la
Trace metals in beach Polychaetes
works beach next to Hopkins Marine Station, the Monterey
marina beach between wharf number one and two, a beach 500
yds, east of wharf number two, the Del Monte Apts. beach,
the U.S.N.P.G.S. beach, the beach at the Monterey sewage pipe
and the last, 50 yds. southwest of Holiday Inn in Monterey.
Polychaetes were collected by sifting sand through a 1/8 inch
plastic screen until sufficient numbers of organisms of a
given species were obtained. Sand samples were also collected
from those specific levels where each species was taken for
later analysis. Specific sites for species were taken from a
polychaete distribution study of south Monterey Bay by Anderson
et al. (1972). The six species studied were:
Cirriformia spirabrancha Moore, 1904
Euzonus dillonensis Hartman, 1938
Euzonus mucronata Treadwell, 1914
Nephtys californiensis Hartman, 1938
Nerinides acuta Treadwell, 1914
Travisia gigas Hartman, 1938
The worms were washed in seawater for 24 to 48 hours to
purge them of attached sand and to allow removal of sand from
the digestive tracts. The organisms were then dried for 12
hours at 72°C. They were subsequently ground to a powder with
mortar and pestle and sifted through .5 mm. nylon netting.
One gram samples were weighed out into 30 ml. beakers. Ten
ml. of 90% HNO3 was added and the sample left uncovered under
a hood for one hour. Samples were then refluxed one hour and
evaporated to a volume of 5 ml. Five ml. of H90, was added
Trace metals in beach Polychaetes
dropwise until bubbling stopped and the resulting solution
was evaporated to a final volume of 5 ml. One ml. of con¬
centrated HCl was then added and the solution was diluted to
25 ml. with distilled water. Sand samples were digested in
the same manner in order to compare levels in the sand en¬
vironment with those in the polychaetes studied. The digested
samples were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry.
All collections of the polychaetes were pooled and two
one gram subsamples were taken from the pooled tissue samples.
All of the polychaetes studied are substrate ingestors
with the exception of Nephtys californiensis, which is a
predator. Feeding type was determined, in the case of the
substrate ingestors, by dissection of the gut and microscopic
analysis. N. californiensis was observed feeding on nematodes
and other polychaetes.
Results
The results are presented in Figures 2-10 and Table 1.
The elements will be discussed individually.
Nickel: The nickel concentrations in the sand remain
relatively consistent from beach to beach in a range of 4 ppm.
to 10 ppm. (Fig. 2). Nickel levels do not vary greatly with
different polychaete species showing a range of 3 ppm. to 7
ppm. (Fig. 4). The one exception to this is the opheliid
Travisia gigas. At two different locations the levels in
this polychaete are much higher (27 ppm. and 55 ppm.) than
those seen in the other species (Fig. 4). The ratio of
Trace metals in beach Polychaetes
polychaete nickel concentration to concentrations in the sand
are consistently in the range of .330 - .784, except for the
ratios of T. gigas to the sand which are 8.30 and 4.09 (Table 1).
Copper: Copper levels in the sand showed little varia¬
bility from transect to transect, with a range of 1 ppm. - 6
ppm. The polychaetes showed a ratio to the sand of over one,
ranging from 3.00 to 12.6 (Table 1). The species with the
highest ratios are Nerinides acuta with 24.0, Nephtys califor-
niensis with 23.0 and Euzonus mucronata with 93.0. N. acuta
and E. mucronata also showed the highest overall copper con¬
centrations of any species with 63 ppm. and 300 ppm. respec¬
tively (Fig. 5).
Manganese: The levels in the sand were all over 10 ppm.
with the highest concentration being 33 ppm. Manganese levels
in the polychaetes were consistent from species to species
ranging from 4 ppm. to 15 ppm. None of the ratios show any
significant concentration of manganese in the polychaetes.
Iron: Sand levels of iron were consistent with higher
levels occuring at the boat works beach, 1400 ppm. and the
harbor beach, 1500 ppm. The iron levels in any given species
of polychaete were intraspecifically consistent from beach to
beach. E. dillonensis and E. mucronata show a range of 750
ppm. to 860 ppm. T. gigas with a range of 350 ppm. to 420
ppm. and C. spirabrancha from the harbor showed the highest
levels of up to 1700 ppm.; N. acuta and C. spirabrancha showed
a ratio of 1 to the sand levels, and all others were from .10
- .75.
Trace metals in beach Polychaetes
Zinc: Levels of zinc in the sand were inconsistent from
transect to transect, but showed a range of 6 ppm. to 32 ppm.
The levels in the worms showed intraspecific consistency
similar to that found with the iron levels. E. dillonensis
had a range of 100 ppm. to 160 ppm. T. gigas had a range of
30 ppm. - 60 ppm. C. spirabrancha had 70 ppm. at both sites.
The highest levels occur in N. acuta and Nephtys californiensis
with 250 ppm. and 240 ppm. respectively. The ratios of the
worm levels to the sand levels were all greater than 1:1
ranging from 3.06 to 3.14. The highest ratios were in N.
californiensis, E. dillonensis from the U.S.N.P.G.S. and N.
acuta.
Lead: Sand levels were only detectable on the harbor
beach and at the boat works beach. All species showed con¬
sistent levels of lead from 8 ppm. to 11 ppm. with the ex¬
ception of E. dillonensis and E. mucronata which had levels
of 21 ppm. and 57 ppm. respectively.
Cadmium: Cadmium was not detectable in the sand at any
of the sampling sites. All species analyzed contained cadmium
with the highest level in E. dillonensis of 11 ppm.
Discussion
All of the metal levels in the sand found in this study
are consistent with surface sand levels found in a study by
Koski (1972), with iron, zinc and manganese occuring in the
greatest concentrations.
Trace metals in beach Polychaetes
The Monterey marina is directly adjacent to the Del Monte
beach transect and the Monterey Boat Works is above the tran¬
sect at Hopkins Marine Station. These are sources of environ¬
mental pollution. It is interesting to note that the highest
concentrations of lead and iron were found on the sand from
these beaches.
The polychaetes can be separated into accumulators and
non-accumulators with respect to each metal. T. gigas seems
to be the only nickel accumulator out of the six species
studied.
The consistently high ratios of copper found in the
worms seems to indicate copper may be used in all of the
species studied, possibly as a metallo-enzyme. Vinogradov
(1953) cites evidence for a copper metallo-enzyme in annelids.
The accumulators of copper seem to be Nephtys californiensis,
E. mucronata and Nerinides acuta. These species show a ratio
to the sand of an order of magnitude greater than the other
species.
All species seem to be non-accumulators of manganese as
indicated by the ratios in Table 1.
Annelids use three iron containing pigments, haemoglobin,
chlorocruorin and haemerythrin (Dales, 1963), which accounts
for the intraspecific consistency in the iron levels from
transect to transect. The C. spirabrancha from the harbor
shows a greater ratio of iron to the sand than C. spirabrancha
from the Boat Works beach. This may reflect the presence of
sand particles rich in iron in the gut or accumulation by the
Trace metals in beach Polychaetes
worm. However, the relatively consistent levels of iron in
the same species coupled with the use of iron suggests regu¬
lation of iron in the polychaetes independent of the levels
in the sand.
The zinc accumulators seem to be N. californiensis and
Nerinides acuta. The six species studied contain higher con¬
centrations than the sand. Phelps (1966) suggests accumula¬
tion of zinc in nine species of benthic polychaetes. They
also show consistently high ratios of tissue zinc levels to
the levels in the sand. Bryan and Hummerstone (1971) and
Cross et al. (1970) give evidence for regulation of zinc con¬
centrations in polychaetes independent of the sand levels.
The data from this study seems to justify such an hypothesis.
All species studied appear to accumulate lead and cadmium
above the levels found in the sand. E. mucronata seems to be
the largest accumulator of lead. It is interesting to note
that E. mucronata is also the largest accumulator of copper.
While strongly suggestive, the data presented is not
sufficient to confirm accumulation of these metals in the
polychaetes investigated. This is a result of the time limit
of six weeks and the scarcity of two of the species. (N. cali¬
forniensis and T. gigas occur in a density of approximately
1 per 1/4 m2 (Anderson et al., 1972).) Further research should
be initiated to confirm the suspected accumulation of these
metals. Nickel and iron levels in annelids suggested by Bowen
(1971) are consistent with the levels recorded in this study.
Trace metals in beach Polychaetes
Summary
There is evidence to suggest accumulation of nickel in
T. gigas. Copper is accumulated in Nephtys californiensis,
E. mucronata and Nerinides acuta. Accumulation of zinc takes
place in N. californiensis, E. dillonensis and N. acuta.
Lead accumulation seems to take place in E. mucronata. This
study shows that zinc and copper are in consistently high
levels in the worms as opposed to the sand and this may sug¬
gest some use by the worms such as a metallo-enzyme.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr. John Martin for his assistance
in interpreting the data and his technical advice. I thank
Dr. Welton Lee and Dr. Donald P. Abbott for their help in
writing and editing this paper. Many thanks go to Mr. Keith
Skaug for his invaluable assistance in the laboratory.
Literature Cited
Anderson, D. et.al.
1972. Polychaete distribution and related physical
parameters on sandy beaches of South Monterey Bay, Cali¬
fornia. On file Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford Uni-
versity.
Bowen, H.J.M.
1971. Trace Elements in Biochemistry. Academic Press,
New York. pp. 70-71.
Bryan, G.W.
1971. The effects of heavy metals (other than mercury)
on marine and estuarine organisms. Proc. Roy. Soc.
London B Biol. Sci., vol. 177, pp. 389-410.
Bryan, G.W. and L.G. Hummerstone
1971. Adaptation of the polychaete Nereis diversicolor
to estuarine sediments containing high concentrations of
heavy metals. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K., vol. 54, pp. 845-
863.
Cross, F.A., Duke, T.W. and J.W. Willis
1970. Biogeochemistry of trace elements in a coastal
plain estuary: distribution of manganese, iron and zinc
in sediments, water and polychaetous worms. Chesapeake
Sci., vol. 11, pp. 221-34.
Dales, R. P.
1963. Annelids. Hutchinson & Co. LTD., London. pp. 200.
Goldberg, E. D.
1965. Review of trace element concentrations in marine
organisms. Puerto Rico Nucl. Center., pp. 535.
Koski, R.A.
1972. Trace metal concentrations on sandy beaches. On
file Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University.
Phelps, D.K.
1966. Partitioning of the stable elements Fe, Zn, Sc,
and Sm within a benthic community, Anasco Bay, Puerto
Rico. International Symposium on Radioecological Con¬
centration Processes, Stockholm., Symposium Publica¬
tions Division, Pergamon Press, New York., pp. 721-34.
Vinogradov, A.P.
1953. The Elementary Chemical Composition of Marine Or¬
ganisms. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn. (Sears
Foundat. for Marine Res.).. pp.640.
Table A
Boat Wks. Beach
Harbor
Del Monte Beach
Del Monte Apts.
U.S.N.P.G.S.
Sewage Pipe
Holiday Inn
Table B
N. californiensis
dillonensis
dillonensis
dillonensis
gigas
dillonensis
mucronata
gigas
spirabrancha
C. spirabrancha
N. acuta
Appendix
Sand metal levels in ppm.
Fe
Mn
Pb
cd
Zn
12.7 =593
0.00
2.60
10.4 8.30 0.00
5.20
1400 14.9 16.7 0.00
26.3
6.50 6.20
15.5
1500 23.2 14.2 0.00
10.0 3.10
1160 12.9 0.00 0.00
23.8
1115 6.40 0.00 0.00
6.60 2.00
16.6
10.0 2.00
1141 32.0 0.00 0.00
24.7
6.60 2.00
16.6
1115 6.40 0.00 0.00
10.0 2.00 23.8
1141 6.40 0.00 0.00
6.60 2.00 32.7 1165 12.9 0.00 0.00
4.30 1.00 12.5 1700 7.60 0.00 0.00
Polychaete metal levels in ppm.
Fe
Cu
Zn
cd
23.0
3.2
239
182
3.3
11.3
3.2
5.1
16.5
3.8
748
106
7.0
2.0
4.1
6.6
16.6
4.0
818
161
858
6.6
25.2
5.3
100
18.2
6.7
55.0
6.1
7.0
367
52.3
O.00
1.0
38
6.6
4.0
801
128
22.7
11.4
4.0
299
3.3
2.6
15.1 419
59.0
1.1
27.0 6.1
6.8
5.1
1719
7.9
19.4
10.9
1.0
29.5 10.9
3.3
770
6.8
2.0
2.8
5.6 63.0 4.0 665
252
9.0
10
Table 1. Ratio of trace metal levels in each species to
the trace metal levels of the sand in which that
species was found.
G. Nephtys californiensis
F. Euzonus dillonensis
E. E. dillonensis
D. E. dillonensis
D. Travisia gigas
C. T. gigas
c. E. dillonensis
C. E. mucronata
B. Cirriformia spirabrancha
A. C. spirabrancha
A. Nerinides acuta
TABLE 1
Ni
Cu
Mn
Fe
.767
23.0 .256 .107
72 8.25
.642
.116
.660 8.25 .168
.716
.660
12.6 .271
.751
8.30
3.00
.421
4.09
.909
.375
3.00
.660
11.8
.168
.690
.330
93.4
.168
.669
.784
3.11
.703
1.14
5.67
.550
.414
24.2 .314
1.12
A. Boat Wks. Beach
B. Harbor
C. Del Monte Beach
D. Del Monte Apts.
E. U.S.N.P.G.S.
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Zn
Pb Cd
31.4
8.21
25.1
3.12
8.17
9.21
9.92
6.12
3.06
.492
4.83
.407
24.2 1.08
Figure 1. Collection sites.
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