The main objectives of study were to monitor the metals concentrations, in freshwater fish species, Carassius gibelio and Esox lucius; and to identify any relationships between species and bioaccumulation of metals. The highest concentration of metals (cadmium, 1.96; copper, 24.2; zinc, 49.6; lead, 5.4; chromium, 4.4) between the fish species and tissues was in the liver of Esox lucius, while the lowest (cadmium,0.21; copper,7.2; zinc,19.4; lead,0.9; chromium,0.6 μg/g) found in the muscle of Carassius gibelio. Results showed that the metal concentrations were in fishes in descending order of zinc > copper > lead > chromium > cadmium, similarly in the tissue liver > kidney > gill ~ intestine > muscle.

The metal pollution in Sediments and Avicenna marina tissues in the Hara Biosphere Reserve was monitored for Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), and Nickel (Ni) with atomic absorption spectrometer. The results showed that the mean concentration of Pb, Cd, and Ni in the water and sediments were much higher than the recommended threshold limits in the most stations, also the highest means of Pb, Cd, and Ni were observed in Avicenna roots and it were 25.26 ± 4.86, 2.17 ± 0.74, and 26.72 ± 6.17 (μg g(-1)) respectively. Calculating BCF (bioconcentration factor) index illustrates that A. marina accumulates Pb, Cd, and Ni 1.62, 1.52 and 0.73 times greater than sediment levels respectively, So it can show that A. marina may be employed as a biological indicator exposure of Cd, Pb, and Ni with temporal monitoring, also the factories were main sources of metals contamination in the Hara Biosphere Reserve.

The present study is an attempt to assess the pollution intensity and corresponding ecological risk of heavy metals such as Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu, Zn and Cr using various indices like geo-accumulation index, concentration factor, pollution loading and ecological risk index. In all 21 surface sediments samples were collected from the stream flowing around the solid waste disposal landfill of Qayen city in southeastern Iran. Although Igeo values for Cd varied greatly, sites 18-21 with class 5 show heavy loads of Cd (values between 4.13 and 4.45). PLI values (3.37-12.89) clearly suggest strong contamination with respect to the measured metals. This study clearly indicates that the contamination risk in the downstream reservoir is much higher than upstream sites due to transfer and accumulation of leached metals from upstream to downstream.

Citation: Majnoni F., Mansouri B., Rezaei M., Hamidian A.H. 2013 -Metal concentrations in tissues of common carp, Cyprinus carpio, and silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix from the Zarivar Wetland in Western Iran -Arch. Pol. Fish. 21: 11-18.Abstract. The aim of this paper was to monitor the concentrations of mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and nickel (Ni) in the gills, scales, and muscles of two fish species, common carp, Cyprinus carpio L., and silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val.), from the Zarivar Wetland in Western Iran, and to identify any relationships between the species. The metal concentrations in the tissues of common carp and silver carp decreased in the following sequence: Cu > Pb > Hg > Ni > Cd. The results indicated no significant differences between the males and females of either fish species (P > 0.05). The results also showed that there were significant correlations (P < 0.05) between fish total length and weight and concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Cu in the different muscle tissues examined.

The concentration and chemical speciation of Pb, Cd and Ni as well as the total organic carbon (TOC) were studied in surface sediments from nine stations in the Hara Biosphere Reserve. The sequential extraction technique was applied to assess the four (exchangeable, acid-reduction, oxidisable-organic and residual) fractions in surface sediment. This investigation was the first study on the basis of the chemical speciation of Pb, Cd and Ni in surface sediments of Hara Biosphere Reserve. The total concentrations of metals were 31.66-42 μg g −1 for Pb, 3.08-4 μg g −1 for Cd and 36.81-118.9 μg g −1 for Ni. The highest percentages of Pb, Cd and Ni were found in the resistant fractions; 51.42%, 60.11%, 91.71%, respectively, indicating that these metals were strongly bound to the sediments. The degree of surface sediments contamination was determined for the individual contamination factors (ICF). The result of ICF values illustrated that all stations (with the exception of stations 3 and 8 for Pb) did not pose a potential risk to fauna and flora of the Hara Biosphere Reserve. The Pearson correlation between the concentration of Pb, Cd, and Ni at the oxidisable-organic fraction with TOC in surface sediment demonstrated that TOC had a positive effect on complexing with metals in the surface sediment. The wastewater from industry was the main source of metal pollution in this region.