The use of seaweeds as bioindicators of natural and anthropogenic contaminants in northern Chile

Twelve seaweed species were sampled from 1991 to 1993 in order to detect the impact of natural mineralization and mining in 14 contaminated and non-contaminated areas (between 24° and 30° S - more than 1200 km) along the northern Chilean coast. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) was used to measure the concentration of 17 chemical elements. The results showed high variability in and between species, among sampling sites and times of collection. The high values of heavy metals in seaweeds suggest that these marine organisms can be used as biological indicators for detecting mineralization and anthropogenic impact on coastal marine communities.