Metal(loid) accumulation and ecotoxicological assessment in cartilaginous fishes from the Northeastern Mediterranean

Abstract

The present study was conducted with the objective of ascertaining the levels of selected metal(loid)s in the muscle, liver, spleen, kidney, stomach, intestinal, and gonad tissues of seven distinct cartilaginous species sampled from Northern Cyprus. This initiative was undertaken to address the dearth of metal bioaccumulation data for cartilaginous species and to elucidate the impact of metal pollution on these species, which are distinguished by their limited reproductive capacity. The samples were obtained from discarded species captured during commercial fishing activities. The metal concentrations in these tissues were subsequently determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometry (ICP-MS). The results indicated that the kidney tissue of Squalus blainville exhibited the highest concentrations of Al, Cr, and Pb, while Raja clavata showed the highest concentrations of Mn and Sr in the kidney and muscle tissues. Furthermore, Chimaera monstrosa demonstrated the highest concentrations of Fe in the liver, while Dipturus oxyrinchus exhibited the highest concentrations of Zn, As, and Cd in the kidney tissue. The observation that As and Fe exhibited the highest tissue concentrations among the metal(loid)s analysed in all species suggests that As pollution levels in the Northeastern Mediterranean region may be particularly high.