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Heavy Metals in Antarctic Notothenioid Fish from South Bay, Livingston Island, South Shetlands (Antarctica)

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Abstract

The Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, and Mn contents of the liver, spleen, muscle, bones, scales, gills, and the whole body of 3- to 7-year-old notothenioid Antarctic cod (Notothenia coriiceps, Richardson, 1844) were measured. The highest heavy metal concentrations obtained are as follows: Cd in liver, the mean value was 1.36 ± 0.19 mg/kg dry weight (wt); Pb and Zn in spleen, the mean values were 3.33 ± 0.86 and 143.97 ± 16.17 mg/kg dry wt, respectively; Cu in gills, 3.76 ± 1.16 mg/kg dry wt; and Mn in scales, 14.80 ± 4.77 mg/kg dry wt. The comparison with the data reported up to now shows that the metal concentrations varied within relative wide ranges. These first data obtained could be used as a baseline to investigate further relationships among metal contents in fish, their diet, and habitat.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by grant B 16-15/2006 of the Bulgarian National Science Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Zoology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Tzar Osvoboditel 1 Blvd, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria

    Michaela Beltcheva & Roumiana Metcheva

  2. National Diagnostic and Research Veterinary Institute, P. Slaveykov 15 Blvd, Sofia, 1606, Bulgaria

    Vesela Peneva, Margarita Marinova & Vania Chikova

  3. Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, Tzar Osvoboditel 15 Blvd, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria

    Yordan Yankov

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  1. Michaela Beltcheva
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  2. Roumiana Metcheva
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Correspondence to Michaela Beltcheva.

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Beltcheva, M., Metcheva, R., Peneva, V. et al. Heavy Metals in Antarctic Notothenioid Fish from South Bay, Livingston Island, South Shetlands (Antarctica). Biol Trace Elem Res 141, 150–158 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-010-8739-5

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