Role of living environments in the accumulation characteristics of heavy metals in fishes and crabs in the Yangtze River Estuary, China

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin 2012-06, Vol.64 (6), p.1163-1171
• Main Authors: Zhao, Shou, Feng, Chenghong, Quan, Weimin, Chen, Xiaofeng, Niu, Junfeng, Shen, Zhenyao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accumulation mechanism; Animals; average daily intake; bioaccumulation; Brachyura - metabolism; Brackish; China; Collichthys; Collichthys lucidus; Correlation; crabs; Decapoda; Environment; environmental factors; Environmental Monitoring; Eriocheir; estuaries; fish; Fishes - metabolism; Freshwater; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Health risk assessment; Heavy metal; heavy metals; Humans; legs; Marine; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Metals, Heavy - metabolism; Pisces; quantitative analysis; risk; Risk Assessment; Rivers - chemistry; Seafood - statistics & numerical data; Seawater - chemistry; sediments; surface water; tissues; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; water pollution; Water Pollution, Chemical - statistics & numerical data; Yangtze Estuary
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.03.023

► Heavy metal levels in fishes and crabs showed high correlation with environment. ► Tissues of fishes and crabs exhibited diverse metal bioaccumulation mechanism. ► Collichthys lucidus was identified to be an environmental bioindicator. ► Health risks of fishes and crabs in Yangtze River Estuary were not high. Correlation of heavy metals in the tissues of typical organisms (i.e., fishes and crabs) and those in their living environments (i.e., surface water, bottom water, and sediment) in Yangtze River Estuary has been qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. Metal levels followed the trend: sediments >Eriocheir sinensis>Eriocheir leptognathus>benthic fish>pelagic fish>bottom water>surface water. Tissues in fishes and crabs of different species and sizes had diverse metal bioaccumulation characteristics, which was significantly affected by environment factors and their living habits. Metal levels in legs of crabs, and heads and skins of fishes showed significant correlations with those in their living environments. Collichthys lucidus is an effective bioindicator for assessing metal levels in water. No significant health risk was identified by the estimated daily intake and target hazard quotients analyses.