Comparisons of diatoms and fishes as toxic metal bioindicator: a case study of an A-class wetland in northwest Turkey under effect of an intensive paddy cultivation stress
- 8 July 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Environmental Science and Pollution Research
- Vol. 29 (58), 87231-87244
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21903-6
Abstract
In this research, diatoms as the first step and fishes as the last step of the food chain were compared as toxic metal accumulation bioindicator in an A-class wetland in Turkey. Bioaccumulations of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) were determined in liver, gill and muscle tissues of two commercially consumed fish species Carassius gibelio and Cyprinus carpio and in frustules of epiphytic diatom communities living on submerged macrophytes. Samples were collected seasonally from the Gala Lake, which is among the best stopover habitats of birds migrating between Europe and Africa, considering the paddy harvest period that is a major stress factor for the ecosystem. Also, potential human health risks associated with the consumption of fishes and consumption — dermal contact of diatoms were evaluated both for summer — before paddy harvest (BPH) and autumn — after paddy harvest (APH) periods. As a result of this research, the investigated toxic metal concentrations were increased significantly in diatoms in the APH period, while less significant exchanges were recorded in fishes. The bioaccumulations of PTEs were ranked as follows: Zn > Mn > Se > Cu > B > Cr > Ni > As > Pb > Cd for C. gibelio; Zn > Mn > Se > Cu > B > Cr > As > Ni > Pb > Cd for C. carpio; and Mn > Zn > Se > Pb > B > Ni > Cr > Cu > As > Cd for diatom frustules. Although the HI values in diatoms detected in the APH period were statistically significantly higher (about 1000 times; p < 0.05) than detected in the BPH period, they were less than the limit of 1 in both seasons. However, the HI coefficients of fishes were quite higher than the limit (an average of 23.59 for C. gibelio and 19.18 for C. carpio), which means quite high probable non-carcinogenic health risks for humans. Furthermore, the CR coefficients of Cr, Ni and As in muscle tissues of fishes were considerably higher than the limit of 10−4, which reflects a significant carcinogenic health risk for consumers. The data showed that although the fishes at the top of the food chain bioaccumulate the PTEs in their tissues much higher than the diatoms at the bottom of the food chain, the diatoms are much more sensitive to changes in the environmental conditions than the fishes and they are more effective biological tools as toxic metal accumulation bioindicators.Funding Information
- Trakya Üniversitesi (2019/127)
This publication has 55 references indexed in Scilit:
- Assessment of Water Quality in the Meriç River as an Ecosystem Element in Turkey’s Thrace RegionPolish Journal of Environmental Studies, 2015
- Heavy metal pollution in surface water and sediment: A preliminary assessment of an urban river in a developing countryEcological Indicators, 2015
- Benthic macroalgae as biological indicators of heavy metal pollution in the marine environments: A biomonitoring approach for pollution assessmentEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2014
- Heavy Metal Accumulation by Periphyton Is Related to Eutrophication in the Hai River Basin, Northern ChinaPLOS ONE, 2014
- Marine Invertebrates as Bioindicators of Heavy Metal PollutionOpen Journal of Metal, 2014
- Macroinvertebrates and fishes as biomonitors of heavy metal concentration in the Seixal Bay (Tagus estuary): Which species perform better?Ecological Indicators, 2012
- Monitoring Environmental Pollutants in the Vicinity of a Cement Plant: A Temporal StudyArchives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2010
- Biomonitoring: An appealing tool for assessment of metal pollution in the aquatic ecosystemAnalytica Chimica Acta, 2008
- Determination of organochlorine pesticide residues in water, sediment, and fish samples from the Meriç Delta, TurkeyInternational Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 2006
- Daily intake of TBT, Cu, Zn, Cd and As for fishermen in TaiwanScience of The Total Environment, 2002