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Zinc and copper bioaccumulation in fish from Laizhou Bay, the Bohai Sea

  • Biology
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Abstract

Zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) concentrations were determined in the tissues (muscle, stomach, liver, gills, skin, and gonads) of five commercial fish species (mullet Liza haematocheilus, flathead Platycephalus indicus, mackerel Scomberomorus niphonius, silver pomfret Pampus argenteus, and sea bass Lateolabrax japonicus) from Laizhou Bay in the Bohai Sea. Metal bioaccumulation was highest in the metabolically active tissues of the gonads and liver. Bioconcentration factors for Zn were higher in all tissues (gonads 44.35, stomach 7.73, gills 7.72, liver 5.61, skin 4.88, and muscle 1.63) than the corresponding values for Cu (gonads 3.50, stomach 3.00, gills 1.60, liver 5.43, skin 1.50, and muscle 0.93). Mackerel tissues accumulated metal to higher concentrations than did other fish species, but bioaccumulation levels were not significantly correlated with the trophic levels of the fish. Zn and Cu concentrations in the tissues were generally negatively correlated with fish length, except for a few tissues of sea bass. Risk assessment based on national and international permissible limits and provisional tolerances for weekly intake of Zn and Cu revealed that the concentrations of these two metals in muscle were relatively low and would not pose hazards to human health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Jinhu Liu  (刘金虎), Liang Cao  (曹亮) & Shuozeng Dou  (窦硕增)

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Jinhu Liu  (刘金虎)

  3. Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Biogeochemistry, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou, 310012, China

    Wei Huang  (黄伟)

  4. Xiaying Enhancement and Experiment Station, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Weifang, 262312, China

    Chuantao Zhang  (张传涛)

Authors
  1. Jinhu Liu  (刘金虎)
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  2. Liang Cao  (曹亮)
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  3. Wei Huang  (黄伟)
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  4. Chuantao Zhang  (张传涛)
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  5. Shuozeng Dou  (窦硕增)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shuozeng Dou  (窦硕增).

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Creative Research Group (No. 41121064) and the International or Regional Research Cooperation and Exchange Project (No. 31061160187)

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Liu, J., Cao, L., Huang, W. et al. Zinc and copper bioaccumulation in fish from Laizhou Bay, the Bohai Sea. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 32, 491–502 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-014-3032-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-014-3032-7

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