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Mapping differential elemental accumulation in fish tissues: assessment of metal and trace element concentrations in wels catfish (Silurus glanis) from the Danube River by ICP-MS

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Abstract

Studies of metal accumulation in fish are mainly focused on the muscle tissue, while the metal accumulation patterns in other tissues have been largely neglected. Muscle is not always a good indicator of the whole fish body contamination. Elemental accumulation in many fish tissues and organs and their potential use in monitoring programs have not received proper attention. In the present study, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn concentrations were assessed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the following 14 tissues of the wels catfish (Silurus glanis) from the Danube River: muscle, gills, spleen, liver, kidneys, intestine, gizzard, heart, brain, gallbladder, swim bladder, vertebra, operculum, and gonads. A high level of differential elemental accumulation among the studied tissues was observed. The maximum overall metal accumulation was observed in the vertebra, followed by the kidneys and liver, with the metal pollution index (MPI) values of 0.26, 0.25, and 0.24, respectively. The minimum values were observed in the gallbladder, muscle, brain, and swim bladder, with MPI values of 0.03, 0.06, 0.07, and 0.09, respectively. Average metal concentrations in the fish muscle were below the maximum allowed concentrations for human consumption. The mean As, Cd, Pb, Cu, Fe, and Zn concentrations in the muscle were 0.028, 0.001, 0.001, 0.192, 3.966, and 3.969 μg/g wet weight, respectively. We believe that the presented findings could be of interest for the scientific community and freshwater ecosystem managers. There is a need for further research that would assess less studied tissues in different fish species.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, Project No. TR37009 and Project No. 173045, as well as by the Secretariat for Environmental Protection of the City of Belgrade, Project No. 4011-110. The authors would like to thank Dr. Mirjana Mihajlović for her help during the sample lyophilization, Lea Lenhardt for her support regarding the PCA, Žarko Radovanović for collecting the fish, as well as anonymous referees for providing helpful comments and suggestions that improved the quality of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, Belgrade, 11030, Serbia

    Katarina Jovičić, Željka Višnjić-Jeftić, Stefan Skorić, Aleksandar Hegediš & Ivan Jarić

  2. Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Kaćanskog 13, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia

    Dragica M. Nikolić & Srđan M. Stefanović

  3. Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Despota Stefana 142, Belgrade, 11060, Serbia

    Vesna Đikanović & Mirjana Lenhardt

  4. Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia

    Aleksandar Hegediš & Jasmina Krpo-Ćetković

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  1. Katarina Jovičić
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  2. Dragica M. Nikolić
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  3. Željka Višnjić-Jeftić
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  6. Srđan M. Stefanović
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  7. Mirjana Lenhardt
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  8. Aleksandar Hegediš
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  9. Jasmina Krpo-Ćetković
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Correspondence to Katarina Jovičić.

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Jovičić, K., Nikolić, D.M., Višnjić-Jeftić, Ž. et al. Mapping differential elemental accumulation in fish tissues: assessment of metal and trace element concentrations in wels catfish (Silurus glanis) from the Danube River by ICP-MS. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 3820–3827 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3636-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3636-7

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