Eco-friendly Strategies of Remediation in the Marine System

Abstract

Indirect pollution is responsible for most of the environmental issues in the marine ecosystem. Marine systems are polluted by metals, oil, pesticides, radionuclides, gasoline additives and other substances that pose several threats to the environment. This chapter discusses the main biological techniques that are or can be applied to marine ecosystems to remediate both inorganic pollutants and organic pollutants. It provides an integrative approach of biological remediation of most important pollutants in marine ecosystems. Microbial action depends not only on the type of microorganism but also on a wide range of abiotic factors. Intertidal sediments, main deposits of pollutants of marine ecosystems, are usually subjected to high salinity and reductive conditions due to flooding with tidal water. The marine environment has been increasingly subjected to metal pollution from natural processes and anthropogenic activities. The most commonly used microorganism for metal remediation in marine environments is bacteria, although fungi and algae have also proved to be useful.