Anthropogenic activities and industrial growth significantly impact and transform marine environments, particularly in coastal areas where human activities intersect with the ocean. These vulnerable regions are increasingly threatened by ecological imbalances, with Heavy Metals (HMs) pollution being a major concern due to continuous discharge into the marine environment. Nevertheless, real-time monitoring of heavy metal contents in seawater is highly challenging logistically and analytically. Recent research has shown that foraminiferal shell chemistry could serve as a reliable proxy for detecting trace HMs enrichment in marine environments.
This study examines the spatial and temporal variability of HMs concentration in benthic foraminifera shells from the Gulf of Aqaba-Eilat (GoA), a relatively isolated marine ecosystem in the northern Red Sea. Living specimens of the three most common large benthic foraminifera taxa (Amphistegina lessonii, Peneroplis pertusus, Soritid) were seasonally collected from six locations along the northern GoA coast, representing both polluted and natural habitats. The results of this study present the distribution of HMs along the Israeli coast of GoA, highlighting areas of increased anthropogenic pressure and identifying their potential sources. Moreover, they emphasize the influence of seasonal variation on pollutant concentrations, the heightened sensitivity of these species to pollutant detection, and the variability in metal concentrations observed across different sampling stations along the Israeli coast of the Red Sea.