Accumulation of Copper and Zinc Metals from Water in Anabus testudineus Fish Species in Bangladesh

Abstract

Excessive concentrations of heavy metals impair ecosystems as some of those cause potential bioaccumulation in living beings. Fishes are the major inhabitants in water bodies which can be highly affected by these toxic pollutants. This study investigated the uptake trends of the metals copper and zinc from water in Anabas testudineous, a common fish species in Bangladesh. The accumulation of heavy metals was quantified in the species during time bound batch experiments with metal dosing. Metal uptake trend in fish muscles revealed that, uptake of Zn in fish occurred at an elevated level (~7-8 times) than that of Cu. With uptake of metals in fish muscles from water, Cu concentration in the water decreased concomitantly whereas the concentration of Zn did not change noticeably. Correlation analysis indicated significant changes in internal dynamics among water quality parameters between control and experimental tanks. Bio-concentration profile for the metals revealed very high levels for Zn (5-10 times) than those for Cu evidently due to higher amount of uptake of Zn. To summarize, dynamics of heavy metal metabolism in the fish species and their respective correlation with the water quality parameters may vary for different heavy metals and for different fish species as well.