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Metals in the Tissues of Two Fish Species from the Rare and Endemic Fish Nature Reserve in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River, China

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Abstract

Concentrations of copper, zinc, mercury, and arsenic were measured in the muscle, gill and liver tissues of Coreius heterodon and Pelteobagrus vachelli collected from the rare and endemic fish nature reserve in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The concentrations of copper and zinc in the tissues of these two fish species were higher than those of mercury and arsenic. Highest metal concentrations were generally found in fish samples from Yibin. The concentrations of copper, zinc, mercury, and arsenic in C. heterodon were higher than that in P. vachelli. The fish from this study area were not safe for human consumption.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by China Three Gorges Project Corporation. We thank Xiaojiang Yang for his help during sampling and professor Biyu Song for her valuable revision advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, China

    Shenwen Cai, Zhaohui Ni, Yunfeng Li, Ziwei Shen, Yan Zhang & Yuntao Zhou

  2. School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, China

    Shenwen Cai & Zhiting Xiong

Authors
  1. Shenwen Cai
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  2. Zhaohui Ni
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  3. Yunfeng Li
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  4. Ziwei Shen
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  5. Zhiting Xiong
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  6. Yan Zhang
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  7. Yuntao Zhou
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Correspondence to Zhaohui Ni.

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Cai, S., Ni, Z., Li, Y. et al. Metals in the Tissues of Two Fish Species from the Rare and Endemic Fish Nature Reserve in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 88, 922–927 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0564-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0564-4

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