Marine Polychaetes as Biomonitoring Tools for Total Mercury in BTS Beach Environments

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities such as industrialization, urbanization, mining, and waste disposal release toxic metals into marine ecosystems, posing long-term threats to biodiversity and human health. These contaminants can persist, bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms, and biomagnify along the food web. Biomonitoring, using organisms capable of indicating and quantifying environmental contaminants, is essential for assessing pollution levels and guiding mitigation strategies. Polychaetes—benthic marine worms that inhabit and feed within sediments—are effective biomonitors of toxic metals, as these pollutants are often adsorbed onto sediments and accumulate in their tissues. In this study, polychaetes from the families Chaetopteridae, and Spionidae/Eunicidae were collected in Todos os Santos Bay (BTS), near Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, to monitor mercury contamination in the region.