Some heavy metals accumulation in tissues in Capoeta umbla (Heckel, 1843) from Uzuncayir Dam Lake (Tunceli, Turkey)

Abstract

Concentrations of metals were determined in the gills, liver, kidney, heart and muscle in Capoeta umbla caught from six stations from the Munzur River system. Metal concentrations in the tissues tended to vary significantly among stations (p < 0.05). Liver (Cu, 10.10 ± 0.23-23.03 ± 9.37 ppm; Zn, 14.67 ± 3.01-21.82 ± 2.39 ppm; Cd, 18.04 ± 4.56-52.69 ± 10.65 ppb and Fe, 28.87 ± 6.78-115.11 ± 34.87 ppm) and kidney (Cu, 1.80 ± 0.25-3.70 ± 0.62 ppm; Zn, 20.81 ± 0.37-29.36 ± 0.70 ppm; Cd, 132.06 ± 5.29-639.51 ± 20.14 ppb and Fe, 24.40 ± 1.98-59.39 ± 1.97 ppm) tissues showed higher metal concentrations than other tissues. It seems that metal contamination in the river is too high for the health of fish and the people who eat them. The geographical locations of catch, season, nature of diet, and the size of fish used for analyses might lead to different metal concentration in the same fish species.