A comparative study of inorganic elements in the blood of male and female Caspian pond turtles (Mauremys caspica) from the southern basin of the Caspian Sea

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2017-11, Vol.24 (32), p.24965-24979
• Main Authors: Adel, Milad, Cortés-Gómez, Adriana A., Dadar, Maryam, Riyahi, Hossein, Girondot, Marc
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Aquatic organisms; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioaccumulation; Biodiversity and Ecology; Biological magnification; Blood; Blood levels; Cadmium; Comparative studies; Copper; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology, environment; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Environmental Sciences; Female; Food Chain; Food chains; Food webs; Iran; Lead; Life Sciences; Male; Manganese; Mauremys caspica; Mercury; Mercury (metal); Mercury - analysis; Metals; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Nickel; Ponds; Reptiles & amphibians; Research Article; Selenium; Sex; Toxicology; Trace Elements - analysis; Turtles; Turtles - metabolism; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-0067-2

Due to their bioaccumulation and biomagnification pathways, inorganic elements can accumulate in high-level aquatic organisms in the food web. Then, this species can be used to monitor the quality of the environment. Blood concentration of nine inorganic elements, including possible toxic metals (An, Cu, Mn, Se, As, Ni, Cd, Pb, and Hg), in 20 males and 20 females from eight different locations with high industry and agriculture activities in Iran were evaluated in this work. Additionally, size, sex, condition index, and locations were also included and analyzed. Among the essential elements, Zn and Se presented very high concentrations (56.14 ± 2.66 and 8.44 ± 0.77 μg/g ww, respectively) in all locations. Regarding possible toxic elements, Pb and Cd presented concerning concentrations as well (0.52 and 0.58 μg/g ww); this is especially true for Pb, an element found in very high concentrations in tissues of turtles from the same area in a previous study. The sex and the size of the individuals also had significant differences in concentration of Pb, Cd, As, and Hg.