ABSTRACT
Vegetative plants of certain seaweeds were collected from the natural habitat of Kilakarai and Mandapam coast were subjected to SEM-energy dispersive spectroscopic analysis and quantified the following minerals viz., Na, Mg, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Mn, P, Fe, Zn and Cr during summer, pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons in 2007-2008. The order of preferential accumulation of elemental composition during summer 2007 in Sargassum wightii: Ca > Mg > Na > S > Fe > Si > Cl > K > Mn; Stoechospermum marginatum: Ca > Si > S > Mg > Mn > P > Na; Gracilaria corticata: Ca > Mg > Na > Si > Cl > S > Mn > K > Fe > P; Gracilaria verrucosa: Ca > Cl > Si > Mg > Na > P > S > Mn > Fe > K and Grateloupia filicinia: Ca > Cl > P > Si > Na > Cr > K. Seasonal distribution of elemental composition in the seaweeds showed that most of the minerals were high during the summer followed post-monsoon and monsoon seasons. This could perhaps be due to an ambient concentration of these minerals was high during these seasons thereby facilitating their uptake by seaweeds.
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