Arsenic pollution severely affects shallow water benthic foraminifera

Marine pollution due to heavy metals is an ever-growing concern globally, particularly in coastal environments affected by increased anthropogenic activities. The heavy metals are harmful to marine life because of their severe toxicity and easy bioaccumulation. We evaluate the toxicological impact of Arsenic on benthic foraminifera, a ubiquitous group of marine microorganisms in all types of marine environments. The juvenile specimens of shallow-water benthic foraminifera Rosalina sp. were exposed to the sudden stress of a series of Arsenic concentrations (20–220 µg/L) over 26 days under controlled laboratory conditions. The morphological abnormalities and mortality rates increased gradually with increasing Arsenic concentrations. The specimens exposed to higher concentrations of Arsenic (180–220 µg/L) exhibited early mortality, occurring between 12 and 16 days. The specimens subjected to intermediate Arsenic concentrations, although they lived longer, did not show much growth, indicating a stress response. These results support the use of Rosalina sp. as a bio-indicator for marine ecotoxicological studies and highlight the extreme sensitivity of benthic foraminifera to Arsenic contamination.