Adiyaman city, which is located in the north of the Ataturk Dam Lake, has no wastewater purification facilities which results in municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastewater discharges directly entering the reservoir. To assess the pollution in the dam lake, we used several oxidative stress biomarkers in blood tissue of Cyprinus carpio. Fish samples were taken from Sitilce, polluted area by untreated wastewaters, and Samsat, relatively clean area, in the reservoir in August 2012. The activity of catalase and level of malondialdehyde increased while activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione level decreased in fish from Sitilce site when compared to Samsat site. The findings of the present investigation suggest that the presence of certain prooxidative compounds that can lead to oxidative stress in the fish at the Sitilce site and oxidative stress biomarkers may be important in order to evaluate the effects of untreated wastewaters on living organisms in the dam lake.

Samples of Mugil cephalus and Mullus barbatus were collected in the Northeast Mediterranean coast of Turkey the contents of cadmium, copper, iron, zinc and lead in the liver, gill and muscle tissues were determined by atomic absorption flame spectrophotometry. Except for lead, highest levels of each metal were found in the liver and this was followed by the gill and muscle in both species. Among the metals analyzed, Cu, Zn and Fe were the most abundant in the different tissues while Cd and Pb were the least abundant both in M. cephalus and M. barbatus. Seasonal changes in metal (Cd, Cu, Pb, Fe and Zn) concentration were observed in the tissues of both species, but these seasonal variations may not influence consumption advisories. In general, the highest concentrations were detected for all metals in summer.

No abstract

In this study, to identify mercury (Hg) toxicity and whether selenium (Se) has any role in alleviation of this toxicity, it was investigated the changes in hematological and serum biochemical parameters of Oreochromis niloticus. Fish were exposed to 0.01 and 0.1 mg/L Hg and 0.01 mg/L Hg + 0.1 mg/L Se and 0.1 mg/L Hg + 1.0 mg/L Se for 7 and 14 days. The exposure of O. niloticus to Hg alone resulted in decreases in red blood cell, white blood cell, hemoglobin, hematocrit values, and cholinesterase activity while it increased in alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities and cortisol and glucose levels. Se, in combination with Hg, partially or totally caused an alleviation for the toxic effect of Hg on the above mentioned hematological and biochemical parameters. The results of our study showed that Se has a protective effect against toxicity induced by Hg.

Atatürk Baraj Gölü'nün evsel ve endüstriyel atık sularıyla kirlenen Sitilce ve göreceli olarak temiz bölge olan Samsat bölgelerinden dört farklı balık türü, 2013 yılının Ağustos ayında yakalanmıştır. Silurus triostegus, Chalcalburnus tarichi, Chondrostoma regium ve Carassius carassius türlerinin balıkların solungaç, karaciğer ve kas dokularındaki Cu, Zn, Fe, Cd, Pb ve Cr düzeyleri İndüktif olarak Birleştirilmiş Plazma Optik Emisyon Spektrometresi (ICP-OES) cihazıyla belirlenmiştir. Metal düzeylerinin çalışma bölgelerinden etkilendiği ve tüm örneklerin dokularındaki en yüksek metal düzeylerinin kirli bölgede daha yüksek olduğu saptanmıştır. Sitilce ve Samsat örneklerinin kas dokularındaki en yüksek metal düzeyleri µg/g kuru ağırlık olarak sırasıyla; 0,75 ve 0,18 (Cu); 22,58 ve 7,42 (Zn); 27,11 ve 7,22 (Fe); 0,09 ve Saptanamadı (SP) (Cd), 0,29 ve SP (Pb), 0,13 ve SP (Cr) olarak bulunmuştur. Atatürk Baraj Gölü'nün Sitilce bölgesindeki balıkların kas dokularında önemli düzeylerde ağır metallerin biriktiği ancak bu değerlerin yasal olarak izin verilen limitlerin altında olduğu belirlenmiştir.