Abstract
The toxic effects of heavy metals have grown to be a global concern in recent years, posing an enormous threat to both aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity. Heavy metals are introduced to aquatic systems as a result of industrialization, mining, agricultural runoff, and a range of other natural activities, such as the weathering of rocks and volcanic activity. Increasing amounts of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems have been linked to anthropogenic activities, which are largely responsible for their increasing levels. Fish population exposure to heavy metals has been associated with a few health hazards that can be attributed to repeated contact with them. The presence of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems has negative effects on the quality of the water, hydrogen ion concentrations, dissolved oxygen concentrations, and turbidity of the water and has devastating effects on aquatic biota, including plankton, fish that are present, and benthos. Several heavy metals are known to cause harmful effects on the growth and development of fish, as well as the reproductive and respiratory systems of those fish. Examples include cd, Pb, Hg, Cu, and Zn. Heavy metal toxicity also impairs feeding, breeding, and fish behavior. A significant amount of heavy metals is accumulating in aquatic ecosystems that can lead to their bio-magnification in the food chain as well as disrupting the aquatic food cycle due to increased heavy metal pollution. Heavy metal pollution will increase the risk of extinction for vulnerable species as a result of increased heavy metal pollution. A number of strategies are employed for the remediation of water resources by removing these heavy metals from them, such as bioremediation and phytoremediation. The aim of this review is to evaluate the toxicity of heavy metals in the aquatic ecosystem as a possible threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and to evaluate the various strategies involved in removing these heavy metals from the environment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.
References
Ahmad, W., Alharthy, R. D., Zubair, M., Ahmed, M., Hameed, A., & Rafique, S. (2021). Toxic and heavy metals contamination assessment in soil and water to evaluate human health risk. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94616-4
Annabi-Trabelsi, N., Guermazi, W., Karam, Q., Ali, M., Uddin, S., Leignel, V., & Ayadi, H. (2021). Concentrations of trace metals in phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 168, 112392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112392
Ansari, T. M., Onyike, I. L., & Khatun, N. (2004). Heavy metals in marine pollution perspective–a mini review. Journal of Applied Sciences, 4(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3923/jas.2004.1.20
Arora, R. (2019). Adsorption of heavy metals–a review. Materials Today: Proceedings, 18, 4745–4750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.07.462
Briffa, J. F., Sinagra, E., & Blundell, R. (2020). Heavy metal pollution in the environment and their toxicological effects on humans. Heliyon, 6(9), e04691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e0469
Burakov, A. E., Galunin, E., Burakova, I., Kucherova, A. E., Agarwal, S., Tkachev, A. V., & Gupta, V. K. (2018). Adsorption of heavy metals on conventional and nanostructured materials for wastewater treatment purposes: A review. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 148, 702–712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.11.034
Chandel, P. S., Mahajan, D., Thakur, K., Kumar, R., Kumar, S., Brar, B., Sharma, D., & Sharma, A. (2023). A review on plankton as a bioindicator: A promising tool for monitoring water quality. World Water Policy. https://doi.org/10.1002/wwp2.12137
Damseth, S., Thakur, K., Kumar, R., Kumar, S., Mahajan, D., Kumari, H. V. M., Sharma, D., & Sharma, A. K. (2024). Assessing the impacts of river bed mining on aquatic ecosystems: A critical review of effects on water quality and biodiversity. HydroResearch. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydres.2024.01.004
Duan, C., Ma, T., Wang, J., & Zhou, Y. (2020). Removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution using carbon-based adsorbents: A review. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 37, 101339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2020.101339
Espinoza, H. M., Williams, C. R., & Gallagher, E. P. (2012). Effect of cadmium on glutathione S-transferase and metallothionein gene expression in coho salmon liver, gill and olfactory tissues. Aquatic Toxicology, 110–111, 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2011.12.012
Fatima, S., Muzammal, M., Rehman, A., Rustam, S. A., Shehzadi, Z., Mehmood, A., & Waqar, M. (2020). Water pollution on heavy metals and its effects on fishes. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 8(3), 6–14.
Gautam, P. K., Gautam, R. K., Banerjee, S., Chattopadhyaya, M. C., & Pandey, J. D. (2016). Heavy metals in the environment: fate, transport, toxicity and remediation technologies. In D. Pathania (Eds.), Heavy metals (1st ed., pp. 101–130). Nova Sci Publishers, Inc.
Gheorghe, S., Stoica, C., Vasile, G., MihaiNita-Lazar, G., Stanescu, E., & Lucaciu, I. (2017). Metals toxic effects in aquatic ecosystems: modulators of water quality. In In Tech eBooks. https://doi.org/10.5772/65744.
Ghorab, M. (2018). Environmental pollution by heavy metals in the aquatic ecosystems of Egypt. Open Access Journal of Toxicology. https://doi.org/10.19080/oajt.2018.03.555603
Gupta, A. D., Rawat, K. K., Bhadauria, V., & Singh, H. (2021). Recent trends in the application of modified starch in the adsorption of heavy metals from water: A review. Carbohydrate Polymers, 269, 117763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2021.117763
He, J., Li, Y., Wang, C., Zhang, K., Lin, D., Kong, L., & Liu, J. (2017). Rapid adsorption of Pb, Cu and Cd from aqueous solutions by β-cyclodextrin polymers. Applied Surface Science, 426, 29–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.07.103
Hubeny, J., Harnisz, M., Korzeniewska, E., Buta, M., Zieliński, W., Rolbiecki, D., Giebułtowicz, J., Nałęcz-Jawecki, G., & Płaza, G. (2021). Industrialization as a source of heavy metals and antibiotics which can enhance the antibiotic resistance in wastewater, sewage sludge and river water. PLoS ONE, 16(6), e0252691. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252691
Izah, S. C., & Angaye, T. C. (2016). Heavy metal concentration in fishes from surface water in Nigeria: Potential sources of pollutants and mitigation measures. Sky Journal of Biochemistry Research, 5(4), 31–47.
Izah, S. C., Chakrabarty, N., & Srivastav, A. L. (2016). A review on heavy metal concentration in potable water sources in nigeria: Human health effects and mitigating measures. Exposure and Health, 8(2), 285–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-016-0195-9
Jaishankar, M., Tseten, T., Anbalagan, N., Mathew, B. B., & Beeregowda, K. N. (2014). Toxicity, mechanism and health effects of some heavy metals. Interdisciplinary Toxicology, 7(2), 60–72. https://doi.org/10.2478/intox-2014-0009
Jaiswal, A., Verma, A., & Jaiswal, P. (2018). Detrimental effects of heavy metals in soil, plants, and aquatic ecosystems and in humans. Journal of Environmental Pathology Toxicology and Oncology, 37(3), 183–197. https://doi.org/10.1615/jenvironpatholtoxicoloncol.2018025348
Ju, Y., Lo, W., Chen, C., Chen, C. A., Huang, Z. L., & Dong, C. (2019). Effect of metals on zooplankton abundance and distribution in the coast of southwestern Taiwan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(33), 33722–33731. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2169-x
K ALTaee, S., & Al-Mallah, K. H. (2020). Review on some heavy metals toxicity on freshwater fishes. Journal of Applied Veterinary Sciences, 5(3), 78–86. https://doi.org/10.21608/javs.2020.100157
Kahlon, S. K., Sharma, G., Julka, J. M., Kumar, A., Sharma, S., & Stadler, F. J. (2018). Impact of heavy metals and nanoparticles on aquatic biota. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 16(3), 919–946. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-018-0737-4
Kaur, S., & Roy, A. (2021). Bioremediation of heavy metals from wastewater using nanomaterials. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23(7), 9617–9640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01078-1
Kumar, P., Kumar, R., Thakur, K., Mahajan, D., Brar, B., Sharma, D., Kumar, S., & Sharma, A. K. (2023a). Impact of pesticides application on aquatic ecosystem and biodiversity: A review. Biology Bulletin, 50(6), 1362–1375. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359023601386
Kumar, R., Jindal, R., Kulharia, M., Sharma, A., Thakur, K., Brar, B., Mahajan, D., Sharma, A., Kumar, S., & Sharma, D. (2023b). Knowledge mining for the differentiation pattern with respect to the productivity and trophic status of some selected lakes of Western Himalayas. Frontiers in Environmental Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1009942
Kumari, N., Thakur, K., Kumar, R., Kumar, S., Mahajan, D., Brar, B., Sharma, D., & Sharma, A. K. (2023). Freshwater lakes in the Western Himalayan Region: An analysis of the present situation. Water-Energy Nexus, 6, 18–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wen.2023.06.002
Leong, Y. K., & Chang, J. S. (2020). Bioremediation of heavy metals using microalgae: Recent advances and mechanisms. Bioresource Technology, 303, 122886. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2020.122886
Madhusudan, S., Liyaquat, Fatma, & Nadim, C. (2003). Bioaccumulation of zinc and cadmium in freshwater fishes. Indian Journal of Fisheries, 50(1), 53–65. http://epubs.icar.org.in/ejournal/index.php/IJF/article/download/7348/2940. Accessed 15 Sept 2023.
Malik, D. S., Sharma, A. K., & Bargali, H. (2018). Status of phytoplankton diversity in relation to water quality of Bhagirathi riverine system in Garhwal Himalaya. International Journal of Advanced Science and Research, 3(1), 30–37.
Malik, D. S., Sharma, A., Kumar, S., Kumar, R., Kumar, R., Kamboj, V., & Sharma, A. (2022). Anthropogenic impact on fish faunal diversity and their habitat ecology in the ganga river and its tributaries, Uttarakhand. In Springer eBooks (pp. 53–71). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05335-1_4
Malik, D. S., Sharma, A., Sharma, A., Thakur, R., & Sharma, M. (2020b). A review on impact of water pollution on freshwater fish species and their aquatic environment. In Agro Environ Media - Agriculture and Ennvironmental Science Academy, Haridwar, India eBooks (pp. 10–28). https://doi.org/10.26832/aesa-2020-aepm-02
Malik, D. S., Sharma, A. K., & Sharma, A. K. (2020a). Status of zooplankton diversity, abundance in relation to hydrography of Ganga River and its Tributaries at Rishikesh. Indian Journal of Ecology, 47(3), 739–745.
Malik, D. S., Sharma, M. C., Sharma, A., Kamboj, V., & Sharma, A. (2021). Anthropogenic influence on water quality and phytoplankton diversity of upper Ganga basin: A case study of Ganga River and its major tributaries. World Water Policy, 7(1), 88–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/wwp2.12049
Mariana, M., Khalil, H. P. S. A., Mistar, E. M., Yahya, E. B., Alfatah, T., Danish, M., & Amayreh, M. Y. (2021). Recent advances in activated carbon modification techniques for enhanced heavy metal adsorption. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 43, 102221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102221
Marina, P., Snežana, M., Maja, N., & Miroslava, M. (2020). Determination of heavy metal concentration and correlation analysis of turbidity: a case study of the Zlot source (Bor, Serbia). Water Air and Soil Pollution. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-4453-x
Mohan, I., Goria, K., Dhar, S., Kothari, R., Bhau, B. S., & Pathania, D. (2021). Phytoremediation of heavy metals from the biosphere perspective and solutions. Pollutants and Water Management: Resources, Strategies and Scarcity, 10, 95–127. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119693635.ch5
Mondal, K., Ghosh, S., & Haque, S. (2018). A review on contamination, bioaccumulation and toxic effect of cadmium, mercury and lead on freshwater fishes. International Journal of Zoology Studies, 3(2), 153–159.
Okereafor, U., Makhatha, M. E., Mekuto, L., Uche-Okereafor, N., Sebola, T. E., & Mavumengwana, V. (2020). Toxic Metal Implications on Agricultural Soils, Plants, Animals, Aquatic life and Human Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2204. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072204
Panigrahi, T., & Santhoskumar, A. (2020). Adsorption process for reducing heavy metals in Textile Industrial Effluent with lowcost adsorbents. Progress in Chemical and Biochemical Research, 3(2), 135–139. https://doi.org/10.33945/sami/pcbr.2020.2.7
Paschoalini, A. L., & Bazzoli, N. (2021). Heavy metals affecting Neotropical freshwater fish: A review of the last 10 years of research. Aquatic Toxicology, 237, 105906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2021.105906
Paul, D. (2017). Research on heavy metal pollution of river Ganga: A review. Annals of Agrarian Science, 15(2), 278–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aasci.2017.04.001
Priyadarshanee, M., & Das, S. (2021). Biosorption and removal of toxic heavy metals by metal tolerating bacteria for bioremediation of metal contamination: A comprehensive review. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 9(1), 104686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2020.104686
Rahman, Z., & Singh, V. P. (2020). Bioremediation of toxic heavy metals (THMs) contaminated sites: Concepts, applications and challenges. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(22), 27563–27581. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08903-0
Rakib, M. R. J., Rahman, M. A., Onyena, A., Kumar, R., Sarker, A., Hossain, M. M., Islam, A. R. M. T., Islam, S., Kurasaki, M., Jolly, Y. N., Idris, A. M., Ali, M. M., Bilal, M., & Sun, X. (2022). A comprehensive review of heavy metal pollution in the coastal areas of Bangladesh: Abundance, bioaccumulation, health implications, and challenges. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(45), 67532–67558. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22122-9
Rana, A., Bhardwaj, S. K., Thakur, M., & Verma, S. (2016). Assessment of heavy metals in surface and ground water sources under different land uses in mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh. International Journal of Bio-Resource and Stress Management, 7(3), 461–465. https://doi.org/10.23910/ijbsm/2016.7.3.1563
Raychaudhuri, S. S., Pramanick, P., Talukder, P., & Basak, A. (2021). Polyamines, metallothioneins, and phytochelatins—Natural defense of plants to mitigate heavy metals. In: Studies in natural products chemistry (pp. 227–261). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-819487-4.00006-9
Redha, A. A. (2020). Removal of heavy metals from aqueous media by biosorption. Arab Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 27(1), 183–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/25765299.2020.1756177
Sfakianakis, D. G., Kahru, A., Kentouri, M., & Tsatsakis, A. (2015). Effect of heavy metals on fish larvae deformities: A review. Environmental Research, 137, 246–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2014.12.014
Shah, S. B. (2021). Heavy Metals in the Marine Environment—An Overview. In: Springer Briefs in earth sciences (pp. 1–26). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73613-2_1
Sharma, A. K., Kamboj, V., Sharma, A. K., Thakur, R., & Sharma, M. (2020). Water quality and its impact on phytoplankton diversity: A case study of tehri reservoir, Garhwal Himalayas. Science Archives, 1(3), 166–173.
Sharma, A. K., Malik, D. S., Kamboj, V., & Sharma, A. K. (2022). Waterbody status of upper Ganga basin and its major tributaries using enviro-assessment techniques. World Water Policy, 8(2), 216–231. https://doi.org/10.1002/wwp2.12084
Sharma, A. K., Sharma, M., Sharma, A. K., & Sharma, M. (2023). Mapping the impact of environmental pollutants on human health and environment: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Geochemical Exploration. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2023.107325
Soliman, N., & Moustafa, A. (2020). Industrial solid waste for heavy metals adsorption features and challenges; a review. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 9(5), 10235–10253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2020.07.045
Sonone, S. S., Jadhav, S., Sankhla, M. S., & Kumar, R. (2020). Water contamination by heavy metals and their toxic effect on aquaculture and human health through food chain. Letters in Applied Nano BioScience, 10(2), 2148–2166. https://doi.org/10.33263/lianbs102.21482166
Tarekegn, M. M., Sallilh, F. Z., & Ishetu, A. I. (2020). Microbes used as a tool for bioremediation of heavy metal from the environment. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 6(1), 1783174. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2020.1783174
Tchounwou, P. B., Yedjou, C. G., Patlolla, A. K., & Sutton, D. J. (2012). Heavy Metal Toxicity and the Environment. In EXS (pp. 133–164). Birkhäuser. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8340–4_
Tessema, K. M., Lemma, B., Fetahi, T., & Kebede, E. (2020). Accumulation of heavy metals in the physical and biological systems of Lake Koka, Ethiopia: Implications for potential health risks. Lakes and Reservoirs: Research and Management, 25(3), 314–325. https://doi.org/10.1111/lre.12330
Thakur, K., Sharma, A., Sharma, D., Brar, B., Choudhary, K., Sharma, A., Mahajan, D., Kumar, R., Kumar, S., & Kumar, R. (2022). An insight into the interaction between Argulus siamensis and Labeo rohita offers future therapeutic strategy to combat argulosis. Aquaculture International. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-022-01043-x
Thakur, K., Thakur, R., & Bhavna, B. (2021a). A review on freshwater fish diversity of India and concept of DNA barcoding in fish identification. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries. https://doi.org/10.21608/EJABF.2021.179996
Thakur, N., Sharma, M., & Sharma, M. (2021b). Phytoremediation-a green technology adapted to eradication of harmful heavy toxic metals from contaminated soil. Journal of Innovative Agriculture, 8(1), 26–31. https://doi.org/10.37446/jinagri/ra/8.1.2021.26-31
Vajargah, M. F. (2021). A review on the effects of heavy metals on aquatic animals. Journal of Biomedical Research & Environmental Sciences, 2(9), 865–869. https://doi.org/10.37871/jbres1324
Vardhan, K. H., Kumar, P. S., & Panda, R. C. (2019). A review on heavy metal pollution, toxicity and remedial measures: Current trends and future perspectives. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 290, 111197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2019.111197
Verma, A. K., & Choudhary, A. (2022). Effect of heavy metal toxicity on Zooplankton population based on dyes and printing industries in Jodhpur (Rajasthan). Biolife, 5(1), 69–73. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7359496
Vinodhini, R., & Narayanan, M. (2008). Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in organs of fresh water fish Cyprinus carpio (Common carp). International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 5(2), 179–182. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03326011
Wei, Y., Ding, D., Gu, T., Jiang, T., Qu, K., Sun, J., & Cui, Z. (2022). Different responses of phytoplankton and zooplankton communities to current changing coastal environments. Environmental Research, 215, 114426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.114426
Zeitoun, M. M., & Mehana, E. E. (2014). Impact of water pollution with heavy metals on fish health: Overview and updates. Global Veterinaria, 12(2), 219–231.
Acknowledgements
All the authors duly acknowledge and thankful to Central University of Himachal Pradesh for providing the necessary facilities and access to the scientific journals.
Funding
No funding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
The authors Munish Sharma and Ravi Kant contributed to the study design, data collection, and manuscript preparation. Arvind Kumar Sharma and Amit Kumar Sharma contributed to writing–review, editing of the manuscript, and supervising the whole experimental study. Amit Kumar Sharma designed the whole research study and supervised the work.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.
Ethical approval
Not applicable.
Consent to participate
Taken.
Consent to publish
Yes.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Sharma, M., Kant, R., Sharma, A.K. et al. Exploring the impact of heavy metals toxicity in the aquatic ecosystem. Int J Energ Water Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42108-024-00284-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42108-024-00284-1