Heavy Metals in Scleractinian Corals

This book provides an in-depth review of heavy metals in corals, describing the sources of heavy metals in the marine environment and their effect on corals. It is designed to serve as a unique reference for upcoming marine researchers and chemists, advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as those interested in marine pollution with respect to heavy metals. The book explains the basics as well as the state-of-the-art regarding heavy metals and corals and is engaging and clearly written and narrated, providing readers with the fundamental tools about the subject matter that they need in their specific fields. It allows readers to understand and appreciate the interactions between the atmosphere, ocean, and the geosphere. Detailed reference is included for the benefit of the reader. The specific objectives of this book are (i) to inform/educate the reader about persistent pollutants such as heavy metals, (ii) to identify sources of heavy metals in the marine environment,(iii) to inform about route of exposure and uptake of the heavy metal pollutants by corals, (iv) to elaborate about the effect of heavy metal pollutants on the coral reef ecosystems, (v) to discuss the ways in which heavy metal regulation occurs in corals, (vi) to impact current knowledge regarding heavy metals in the marine environment, and (vii) to briefly show chemical analysis and instrumentation for analyzing heavy metals.