Studies on the Bioavailability of Heavy Metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) from Bottom Sediments to Guppies, Poecilia Reticulata Peters

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The experiment was carried out to determine the potential of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn) passing from bottom sediments to fish and to identify the correlations between concentrations of these metals in bottom sediments and those in fish. The study material consisted of guppies Poecilia reticulata Peters and bottom sediments with known concentrations of the determined metals in particular fractions. As result of the 60-day exposure of the fish to environments with bottom sediments containing various heavy metals loads, an increasing trend was observable for cadmium and lead concentrations in guppies. Comparative analysis showed that the degree of bottom sediment heavy metal contamination influenced concentrations of these in the guppies. It was found that even small changes in environmental conditions affected the release of metals from bottom sediments, which resulted in notable differences in the concentrations of the examined metals in the fish.

The influence of copper sulphate pentahydrate (CuSO4·5H2O) on the embryo development in the guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

“…There are limited references about the negative influence of Cu on the guppy. In the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), Cu and other heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Pb and Zn) can readily accumulate in the body of fish (Bochenek et al 2008;Yap et al 2008). Severe hyperplasia and exfoliation of the epithelial cells of gill lamellae and obstruction of the internal cavities of renal tubules with necrotised renal epithelial cells sloughed from the basement membrane were observed using 1.17 ppm of CuSO 4 (Park & Heo 2009).…”

Lead and cadmium accumulation in anuran amphibians of a permanent water body in arid Midwestern Argentina

“…Bioavailability of individual metals plays a crucial role in their uptake by an organism (Linder and Grillitsch 2000). Heavy metals, that have latent harmful effects while they are bound to bottom sediments in aquatic environments, become available to organisms when they are released to soluble fractions as a result of changes on physical, chemical or biological conditions (Bochenek et al 2008). Many factors, that include the total concentration and speciation of metals, mineralogy, ionic composition, pH, redox potential, temperature, organic matter content, and water flow rate will determine the chemical species available (e.g., as free metal ion or complex by organic or inorganic ligands), delivery route, and delivery rate to biological receptors (Bochenek et al 2008;John and Leventhal 1995;Peijnenburg and Vijver 2007).…”

“…Cd is mainly present as exchangeable reducible forms that are easily mobilized and mainly adsorbed to organic materials that facilitate their accumulation in aquatic organisms. Pb on the other hand, is easier to transfer into solid phases from water and has lower transportation capacity; moreover, inorganic Pb compounds are commonly abundant in sediment, but have low solubilities in natural water where they are mainly adsorbed to metal oxides (Bochenek et al 2008;Dong et al 2007). In a river polluted by base-metal mining, Cd was the most mobile and potentially bioavailable metal (Prusty et al 1994).…”

“…The hazardous effects on vertebrates include teratogenesis and anomalies in reproduction (Loumbourdis and Wray 1998). Availability of chemical species, delivery route, and delivery rate of individual metals are influenced by many factors (Bochenek et al 2008;John and Leventhal 1995;Peijnenburg and Vijver 2007) and play crucial roles in their uptake by an organism (Linder and Grillitsch 2000). In aquatic environments, Cd is generally adsorbed to organic materials and easily accumulated by organisms.…”

“…In aquatic environments, Cd is generally adsorbed to organic materials and easily accumulated by organisms. Pb on the other hand, is transferred into solid phases and has lower transportation capacity and low solubility (Bochenek et al 2008;Dong et al 2007).…”