Black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus Linnaeus, 1758 as a bioindicator for water pollution of the Caucasian and Crimean Shelves of the Black sea with heavy metals and organochlorine compounds

Abstract

. The results of the investigation of several sets of the black scorpionfish Scorpaena porcus samples collected in two areas within the Crimean shelf and four areas within the Caucasian shelf of the Black Sea are presented. The sampling sites selected for this study are geographically located at a considerable distance from each other; the biotopes differed in terms of the influencing biotic and abiotic factors (including the hydrological regime and the degree of anthropogenic pressure). In each investigated area, three females belonging to the older age groups and selected from the set of random samples collected in spring and summer of 2020, have been examined. The morphometric and meristic characteristics of the black scorpionfish have been investigated, and the geographic differences in the average values of the relevant parameters have been identified. The ranges and average content of organochlorine compounds (persistent pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls), heavy metals, and arsenic in the organs and tissues of the black scorpionfish are presented, and the differences in their bioaccumulation are elaborated. The relationship between the level of accumulation of toxicants in the black scorpionfish and the location of various sampling sites at the Caucasian and Crimean shelves of the Black Sea has been revealed. The relationship between the level of accumulation of toxicants and the average body length of fish has also been identified. Conversely, no correlation between the levels of accumulation of toxicants and fish condition factor has been found, which may result from the high adaptive capacity of the investigated fish species.