EVALUATION OF POTENTIALLY TOXIC METAL CONCENTRATIONS IN THE TERMINOS LAGOON, CAMPECHE, GULF OF MEXICO

Abstract

The Terminos Lagoon is a region of great environmental and economic importance, due to its biodiversity, abundance of natural resources and proximity to the Campeche Sound. These characteristics encourage the development of numerous human activities in its surroundings, including oil, agricultural, industrial, urban and sanitary activities. We evaluated the concentration of Cr, Ni, Pb and V in surface sediment samples from Laguna de Terminos, Campeche, Mexico. The results obtained show that the concentrations of Cr and Pb remained below the ecological criteria of the minimum and maximum adverse ERL and ERM conditions for the biota, as well as within the ranges reported for other coastal lagoons in the Gulf of Mexico, with the exception of Pb, which decreased by almost 100%. Ni recorded values above the ERL and ERM, which have shown fluctuations in concentrations depending on the rainy and dry seasons. V maintained its concentrations below 27.73 mg/kg. High correlations were found between metals Cr – V, Cr – Ni and Ni – V, suggesting that these elements share the same source of origin. The statistics show that there are significant differences between the sampling sites PLZ and C, and PLZ and CDL. The reduction may be due to a decrease in urban, tourist, fishing and agricultural activities.