The paper summarizes the baseline results for concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu and Cr) in marine water, mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) tissues as they relate to the concentrations in fractionated and total sediments. Six sampling stations were selected in Saranda Bay, Ionian Sea, and concentrations of heavy metals were analyzed in water, surface sediment, three sediment fractions, Mytilus tissue and Posidonia leaves. The concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cu and Cr in the sediment were lower than ERL, or between ERL and ERM. The trend of heavy metal concentrations in Posidonia oceanica leaves was Cr>Cu>Pb>Cd while it was Cu>Pb >= Cd>Cr for Mytilus galloprovincialis tissue. Results indicated that the elemental concentrations in sediment correlate more significantly with concentrations in Mytilus tissue than those in Posidonia leaves. These observations confirmed that heavy metals in the sediment are bioavailable to both Mytilus and Posidonia, which thus can be used as good indicators of the spatial variation of heavy metals in marine water environments.
