Determination of heavy metal content in commercial marine fish hunted from southeast Aegean Sea (Turkey) and their potential risk for public health

In this study, heavy metals such as Al, Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, Pb etc. content in liver, muscle and gill of three economical marine species [striped seabream (Lithognathus mormyrus Linneaus, 1758), two-band bream (Diplodus vulgaris Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1817) and Common pandora (Pagellus erythrinus Linneaus, 1758)] obtained from 4 stations (Fethiye, Bodrum, Datça, Marmaris) in South Aegean coast were analyzed. After tissues were mineralized with wet-ashing, their heavy metal concentrations were measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). According to the findings, sediment samples had more heavy metals than water samples and none of heavy metal concentrations in the water samples exceeded national legal limits. Furthermore it was reported that the accumulation of heavy metal in liver and gill was the highest whereas in muscle the proportion was the lowest. Results showed that the mean concentration of the studied heavy metals in muscle tissues did not pose a risk in terms of public health in comparison with the international standards

Assessing the legacy of red mud pollution in a shallow freshwater lake: arsenic accumulation and speciation in macrophytes

Little is known about long-term ecological responses in lakes following red mud pollution. Among red mud contaminants, arsenic (As) is of considerable concern. Determination of the species of As accumulated in aquatic organisms provides important information about the biogeochemical cycling of the element and transfer through the aquatic food-web to higher organisms. We used coupled ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to assess As speciation in tissues of five macrophyte taxa in Kinghorn Loch, U.K., 30 years following the diversion of red mud pollution from the lake. Toxic inorganic As was the dominant species in the studied macrophytes, with As species concentrations varying with macrophyte taxon and tissue type. The highest As content measured in roots of Persicaria amphibia (L.) Gray (87.2 mg kg–1) greatly exceeded the 3–10 mg kg–1 range suggested as a potential phytotoxic level. Accumulation of toxic As species by plants suggested toxicological risk to higher organisms known to utilize macrophytes as a food source

TURKISH JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY-TURK BIYOKIMYA DERGISI

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Hg, Pb) and selenium levels in digestive gland and gill tissues of wild Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819) collected from four locations in Izmir Bay. Methods: A total of 180 samples of the wild Mediterranean mussel M. galloprovincialis with shell length of 50-60 mm were collected from four locations. Inductively coupled plasmamass spectroscopy was used to determine heavy metals and selenium concentrations in mussel samples after microwave digestion process. Results: The highest values (mg kg(-1) dry weight) obtained for digestive gland and gills were 0.17 and 0.15 for Cr, 28.62 and 29.49 for Fe, 0.25 and 0.29 for Ni, 2.53 and 1.78 for Cu, 18.52 and 22.03 for Zn, 1.26 and 1.08 for As, 0.04 and 0.04 for Cd, 0.02 and 0.02 for Hg, 0.19 and 0.16 for Pb, 0.40 and 0.48 for Se, respectively. Statistically significant differences among digestive gland and gills (p<0.05) were found for Cr, Ni, Zn, As, Se and Cd. In general, the levels of the studied elements were higher for the Karsiyaka than for other three stations. Conclusion: The low levels of toxic metals (Cd, Hg, Pb, Cr, Ni) found in tissues of M. galloprovincialis, comparing with the other studies including taken place in the Inner of Izmir Bay. M. galloprovincialis can be used as a sensitive biomonitor for the availabilities of studied elements in the Inner Bay of Izmir, Turkey

Retrieving climate change dependent Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in Southern Turkey by using Landsat thermal imagery

597-605Sea Surface Temperature (SST) is one of the most significant parameters in oceanography. SST data can be used to analyse the ocean and marine environments. SST is required to study Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), identification of invasive species spreading areas, climate change, sea-level rise and pollution predictions. For more than 30 years, satellites have provided images that can assist in understanding changes in marine ecosystems. Remote data can be used as a real-time instrument for creating SST datasets. In this study, Landsat thermal data is used to retrieve sea surface temperatures. The study area of the research includes 1025 points belonging to four cross-sections of Gökova Bay in Southern Turkey. SST values were retrieved using satellite measurements for the first time in Gökova Bay. Landsat 4-5 Thematic Mapper, Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager/Thermal Infrared Sensor imagery were analysed, covering the period from 1987 to 2017. Using geographical information systems, the satellite images were processed with algorithms, and changes in sea surface temperature were evaluated in spatiotemporal terms. As a result, a temperature anomaly of about 3 °C above average was observed in 2011 and 2015. Climate change has been shown to cause fishing losses in Gökova Bay. A relationship was identified between invasive species entering Gökova Bay and sea surface temperature data. The study method has become a useful alternative method in cases where there is a lack of in-situ data

Determination of Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals and Selenium in Tissues of Brown Trout Salmo trutta macrostigma Duméril 1858 from Munzur Stream Tunceli Turkey

The objective of the present work was to determine the bioaccumulation of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), uranium (U) and selenium (Se) in gill, liver, and muscle tissues of the fresh water fish Salmo trutta macrostigma (Duméril, 1858) in Munzur Stream, Tunceli, Turkey. The highest concentrations of U (1.83 μg kg−1), Pb (119.84 μg kg−1) and Se (1.31 μg kg−1) were recorded in the gills of S. t. macrostigma. Concentrations of As (46.27 μg kg−1), Cd (109.19 μg kg−1), Hg (16.40 μg kg−1), Cu (18.19 μg kg−1) were recorded at highest levels in the liver. The results showed that there were significant differences in concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Se, U and Hg in gill, liver and muscle tissue (p < 0.05). Heavy metals were within the edible parts of the investigated fish were in the permissible safety levels for human uses

Mercury accumulation, structural damages, and antioxidant and immune status changes in the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) exposed to methylmercury

In aquatic systems, mercury (Hg) is an environmental contaminant that causes acute and chronic damage to multiple organs. In fish, practically all of the organic Hg found is in the form of methylmercury (MeHg), which has been associated with animal and human health problems. This study evaluates the impact of waterborne- exposure to sublethal concentrations of MeHg (10 lgL-1) in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). Hg was seen to accumulate in liver and muscle, and histopathological damage to skin and liver was detected. Fish exposed to MeHg showed a decreased biological antioxidant potential and increased levels of the reactive oxygen molecules compared with the values found in control fish (non-exposed). Increased liver antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase and catalase) were detected in 2 day- exposed fish with respect to the values of control fish. However, fish exposed to MeHg for 10 days showed liver antioxidant enzyme levels similar to those of the control fish but had increased hepato-somatic index and histopathological alterations in liver and skin. Serum complement levels were higher in fish exposed to MeHg for 30 days than in control fish. Moreover, head–kidney leukocyte activities increased, although only phagocytosis and peroxidase activities showed a significant increase after 10 and 30 days, respectively. The data show that 30 days of exposure to waterborne MeHg provokes more significant changes in fish than a short-term exposure of 2 or 10 days.Versión del editor1,927