Mikołaj PROTASOWICKI, Andrzej CHODYNIECKI FÏSH AS AN

Mikołaj PROTASOWICKI, Andrzej CHODYNIECKI
A gricultural Academ y in Szczecin
Institute of the Technology of Sea Foods
FÏSH AS AN INDICATOR OF POLLUTION OF THE
BALTIC SEA WATERS WITH SOME HEAVY METALS
C o n t e n t s : 1. Introduction, 2. M aterial and m ethods, 3. D iscussion of th e resu lts,
4. Conclusions; Streszczenie; R eferences
1. INTRODUCTION
W hen considering the problem of the pollution of the m arine environ­
m ent \$ith heavy metals, th e presence of copper and zinc is discussed,
among other things. Several reports in th e literatu re have pointed out
enhanced levels of these elem ents in w aters and sedim ents of estuary
and coastal zones and in the tissue ot organism s living in these w ater
bodies [3, 4],
The know n ability of aquatic organism s to accum ulate heavy m e­
tals m ay be utilised for m onitoring environm ental pollution. The in ­
creased level of th e elem ents in th e organisms as com pared w ith th a t of
w ater facilitates the analytical procedure.
The objectives of this paper w ere to explain how much th e copper
and zinc levels in fish taken from various regions of the Baltic Sea are
differentiated and to learn w hether selected fish species can provide
indicators of th e pollution of w aters w ith these metals.
2. MATERIAL AND METHODS
A total of 25 herrings (Clupea harengus L.) and 25 sprats (S prattus
sprattus L.), taken in th e period F eb ru ary — A pril 1977, w ere exam ined.
The locations at w hich the fish w ere taken, num ber of fish and th eir
m ean masses are shown in Figure (p. 72).
Whole fish w ere stored at — 36°C before analysis. In th e case of
herrings, dorsal muscles w ere analysed and in th a t of sprats — headed,
gutted and definned individuals.
A 10-g sample was w et com busted in 65 per cent H N 0 3 for 12 h
at room tem peratu re and then for 2 days at 60—70°C. The sam ple/acid
ratio was 1 : 2 (w /v). The w et com bustion was perform ed in an E rlenOceanology No 13(1980)
m eyer flask covered w ith a w atch glass. A fter cooling, the solution was
filtered into a volum etric flask and made up to 10 cm 3. In this solution
the copper content was determ ined. To determ ine zinc, aliquots of this
solution w ere diluted 25-fold w ith deionized w ater.
The m etal content was determ ined by atomic absorption spectrom e­
try (AAS) in an air-acetylene flam e on a V arian Techtron Model 1200
spectrophotom eter u nder optim um conditions. P arallel blank determ i­
nations w ere run. Calibration curves w ere prepared by th e addition
method. The resu lts w ere treated statistically.
3. DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS
As some authors found correlations betw een th e mass of a fish and the
heavy m etal level in it [1], an attem p t was made to confirm this. The
calculated correlation coefficients did not differ substantially from O,
thus indicating th a t th ere was no such correlation. This finding enabled
us to ignore the problem of com parativeness of th e masses of fish taken
in individual regions.
T ab le 1. C opper and zinc lev els in h errin g s, ¡¿g g-i
T ab. 1. Z aw a rto ść m iedzi i c$>nku w śledziach, ¡¿g g~l
Z inc -- Cynik
C o p p er — M iedź
F ish in g
g ro u n d
Łowislko
X ± S(x)
H om ogeneous
g ro u p s a
G ra p y je d ­
n o ro d n e a
F ishin g
g roun d
Ł ow isko
X + S(x)
4
0 .3 3 2 ± 0 .1 4 2
T
4
4.851+ 1.131
3
0.409+ 0.065
i
2
5.598± 0.382
5
0 .686± 0.077
3
e ^O O + fl^
2
0.940+ 0.117
1
6.205+2.099
1
1.135±0.286
5
10.547+2.442
I
H om ogeneous
gr oups a )
G ru p y je d ­
n o ro d n e
J
a)H om ogeneous groups w ere d e te rm in e d a t a =0.05. — G ru p y jed n o ro d n e w yznaczono p rzy
a
= 0,0 5
T able 2. C opper an d zinc levels in sp rats, ^ g g-i
T ab. 2. Z aw arto ść m iedzi i cynku w szprotach , ¡¿g g-i
C opper — M iedź
F ish in g
g ro u n d
Ł ow isko
x + S(x)
H om ogeneous
g roups a
G ru p y je d ­
n o ro d n e a
Z inc -- C y n k
F ish in g
groun d
Ł ow isko
x ± S(x)
Homogeneouls
g roups *)
G ru p y je d ­
n o ro d n e
/
2
0 .5 62+ 0.128
J
2
20.704+5.431
6
0.775+ 0.101
i
6
24.738+2.798
4
1.058+ 0.499
T
4
25.721+ 1.637
3
1 .3 1 0 + 0 .0 6 2
j.
3
34.632+5.432
a) H om ogeneous groups w ere
p rz y
d e te rm in e d
a ta ^ = 0 .0 5 .
— G ru p y
je d n o ro d n e
*
]
w yznaczono
a = 0 ,0 5
The results showed th a t th e m ean levels of copper in herrings and
in sprats ranged from 0.332 ±0.142 to 1.135 ±0.286 ¡xg g '1 (Table 1) and
from 0.562 ±0.128 to ±1.310 ±0.062 jxg g '1 (Table 2), respectively. The
zinc levels w ere higher and ranged from 4.851 ±1.131 to 10.547 ±2.442
ug g _1 in herrings and from 20.704 ±5.431 to 34.632 ±5.432 ¡xg g_1 in
sprats.
On the basis of the variance analysis in single classification and on
mean grouping by th e T ukey m ethod it can be concluded th a t the hig­
hest copper levels in herrings occurred in fish taken in grounds Nos. 1
and 2 and in sprats in fish taken in grounds Nos. 3 and 4. The highest
zinc level was noted in herrings taken in ground No. 5 and in sprats
taken in ground No. 3. Hence, it can be concluded th a t the copper and
zinc levels in the Baltic herrings and sprats depend on the location of
the ground. This can be explained in term s of differentiation of m etal
levels in the Baltic Sea found by G erm an authors [2]. It seems likely
th a t the enhanced levels of the elem ents in fish taken in the coastal
regions is due to pollution of th e m arine environm ent by man. On the
other hand, it is known th a t w ater in the regions of deeps w ith increased
salinity has higher m etal levels — hence the increased levels of these
m etals in fish taken there. The correlation betw een the levels of copper
and zinc in fish and th e levels of these m etals in w ater suggests th a t
herrings and sprats m ay provide indicator organism s for the m onitoring
of w ater pollution w ith these metals.
4. CONCLUSIONS
1. H errings and sprats m ay provide indicator organism s for the
m onitoring of w ater pollution w ith copper and zinc.
2. The levels of copper and zinc in herrings and sprats taken in the
Baltic Sea w ere found to depend on the location of the fishing grounds.
3. No correlation was found betw een th e mass of fish and the levels
of the tw o m etals in th e ir tissues.
Mikołaj PROTASOWICKI, A ndrzej CHODYNIECKI
A k ad em ia R olnicza w Szczecinie
I n s ty tu t T echnologii Ż yw ności P ochodzenia M orskiego
RYBY JAKO WSKAŹNIK ZANIECZYSZCZENIA WÓD BAŁTYKU
NIEKTÓRYMI METALAMI CIĘŻKIMI
S tresicien ie
W organizm ach zw ierząt w odnych żyjących w w odach p rzy u jścio w y ch i p rzy b rzeż­
n y ch stw ie rd z a się podw yższone zaw arto ści m e tali ciężkich spow odow ane biokonc e n tra c ją ty ch m etali. Zdolność organizm ów w odnych do k u m u la c ji m e tali ciężkich
um ożliw ia stosow anie ich ja k o w skaźników zanieczyszczenia śro d o w isk a wodnego.
B adano zaw artość m iedzi (Cu) i cynku (Zn) w śledziach i szp ro tach z różnych re jo ­
nów B a łty k u . W ykazano, że ry b y ty ch g atu n k ó w m ogą być o rg an izm am i w sk a ź ­
n ik o w y m i w b ad a n ia ch zanieczyszczenia wód. S tw ierdzono, że zaw arto ść m iedzi
i cynku w śledziach i szprotach b ałty ck ich zależy od re jo n u ich odłow u. N ato m iast
n ie stw ierd zo n o k o re la c ji m iędzy ciężarem ryb, a zaw arto ścią Cu i Z n w ich
tk a n k ac h . W yniki b a d a ń poddano an alizie sta ty sty czn ej.
REFERENCES
1. B o h n A., M c E l r o y R. O., Trace m etals (As, Cd, Cu, Fe and. Zn) in A rctic
cod ,(Boreogadus saida), and selected Zooplankton f o r m S trathocona Sound,
N orth ern Baf f i n Island, J. Fish. Res. Bd. Can., 1976, 33 (12), p. 2836 — 2840.
2. B r ü g m a n n L., Z u r V erteilu n g einiger S c h w e r m e ta lle in der Ostsee — eine
Übersicht, Acta Hydrocbim . Hydrobiol., 1977, 5 (1), p. 3 — 21.
3 J e r n e l ö v A., H e a v y m etals in the m arin e e n v iro n m e n t, D ischarge of S e ­
w age from Sea O utfalls, Proc. Int. Symp., Pergam on P ress, 1975, 12, p. 115 — 122.
4. S u e s s E., E r l e n k e u s e r H., H istory of m eta l pollution and carbon in p u t
in Baltic Sea sed im en ts, M eyniana, 1975, 27 (11), p. 63 — 75.