Cadmium, Lead, Copper, Zinc, and Iron Concentration Patterns in Three Marine Fish Species from Two Different Mining Sites inside the Gulf of California, Mexico

Abstract

In the Gulf of California; mineral deposits have contributed to high metal contents in coastal environments. This study examined cadmium; lead; copper; zinc; and iron contents in three fish species; Kyphosus vaigiensis (herbivore), Stegastes rectifraenum (omnivore), and Balistes polylepis (carnivore) at two mining sites. Metal concentrations were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes were estimated using mass spectrophotometry. Also, we assessed the risk to human health from the consumption of these three species based on permissible limits; although only two of them (Kyphosus and Balistes) are consumed as food. Metal concentrations differed among fish species; except for iron. The highest concentrations of metals were not always recorded in the species at the highest trophic level; i.e., Balistes. The highest concentrations (dry weight) recorded were cadmium (0.21 ± 0.03 µg g−1) and lead (1.67 ± 0.26 µg g−1), in S. rectifraenum; copper (1.60 ± 0.49 µg g−1) and zinc (67.30 ± 8.79 µg g−1), in B. polylepis; and iron (27.06 ± 2.58 µg g−1), in K. vaigiensis. Our findings show that each element accumulates differently in particular marine organisms; depending on the physiology of the species and the biogeochemistry of its habitat; which in turn is affected by the anthropogenic activities in adjacent areas. No risk of heavy metals toxicity is expected from the human consumption of the species and sites studied

Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals: Cu, Cd, Pb, Ni and Hg, in Catfish Ariopsis felis in Southern Mexico

“…The internal organs of fish tend to accumulate heavy metals [27][28][29][30]. Analogous results were shown in the fish, Pterois volitans [28].…”

Copper and Zinc Levels in Commercial Marine Fish from Setiu, East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia

“…Many studies have been conducted on the concentrations of PTMs in fish in many regions or countries, such as the Red Sea [19][20][21], India [22][23][24], Pakistan [14,[25][26][27][28], Indonesia [29,30], Persian Gulf or Iran [31][32][33][34][35], Bangladesh [36][37][38], Tanzania [39], Turkey [40], China [41][42][43], Mediterranean Sea [44,45], Aegean Seas of Turkey [46,47], Mexico [48], the Black Sea (Bulgaria), and the Ionian Sea (Italy) [49].…”

Residual Levels of Mercury, Cadmium, Lead and Arsenic in Some Commercially Key Species from Italian Coasts (Adriatic Sea): Focus on Human Health

“…Exposure to As through contaminated food can also lead to serious health effects, including cancer, melanosis, lung disease, hypertension and ischaemic heart disease [ 7 ]. Considering the harmful consequences that these chemicals have on human health, many scientific reports about the levels of toxic metals in a wide variety of fish species have been reported all over the world [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. In Italy, where the annual per capita consumption of fish is one of the highest within EU countries, at 31.02 kg [ 13 ], the quantification of trace metals and the characterization of human exposure risks arising from fish consumption has been explicitly addressed in many studies [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”