Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Arsenic and other trace elements in two catfish species from Paranaguá Estuarine Complex, Paraná, Brazil

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Concentrations of arsenic and four additional trace elements (Cu, Cr, Ni, and Zn) were determined by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry in the muscular tissue of the yellow catfish (Cathorops spixii) and the urutu catfish (Genidens genidens) from Paranaguá Estuarine Complex, Brazil (PEC). The PEC can be characterized by an environment of high ecological and economic importance in which preserved areas of rainforest and mangroves coexist with urban activities as ports and industries. The average concentrations (in milligram per kilogram dry weight) of elements in the muscle tissue of C. spixii are as follows: Zn (31), As (17), Cu (1.17), Cr (0.62), and Ni (0.28). Similar concentrations could be found in G. genidens with exception of As: Zn (36), As (4.78), Cu (1.14), Cr (0.51), and Ni (0.14). Fish from the geographic northern rural region (Guaraqueçaba–Benito) display higher As concentrations in the muscle tissues than fish found in the south-western (urban) part of the PEC. An international comparison of muscle tissue concentrations of trace elements in fish was made. Except for Ni in C. spixii, a tendency of decrease in element concentration with increasing size (age) of the fish could be observed. According to the National Health Surveillance Agency of Brazil, levels of Cr and As exceeded the permissible limits for seafood. An estimation of the provisional tolerable weekly intake of As was calculated with 109 % for C. spixii and with 29 % for G. genidens.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alhas, E., Oymak, S. A., & Akin, H. K. (2009). Heavy metal concentrations in two barb, Barbus xanthopterus and Barbus rajanorum mystaceus from Ataturk Dam Lake, Turkey. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 148, 11–18.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Yousuf, M. H., El-Shahawi, M. S., & Al-Ghais, S. M. (2000). Trace metals in liver, skin and muscle of Lethrinus lentjan fish species in relation to body length and sex. Science of the Total Environment, 256, 87–94.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Anan, Y., Tanabe, S., Mitrofanov, I., & Aubrey, D. G. (2005). Trace element accumulation in fishes collected from coastal waters of the Caspian Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 51, 882–888.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Angulo, R. J. (1992) Geologia da planície costeira do Estado do Paraná. Tese de Doutorado, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil, p. 334.

  • ANVISA (1965). Decreto 55871 de Março de 1965. Disponível em http://www.anvisa.gov.br/legis/decretos/55871_65.htm. Accessed 2 Sept. 2011.

  • Azevedo, J. S., Fernandez, W. S., Farias, L. A., Fávaro, D. T., & Braga, E. S. (2009). Use of Cathorops spixii as bioindicator of pollution of trace metals in the Santos Bay, Brazil. Ecotoxicology, 18, 577–586.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barbieri, E., Passos, E. A., Aragão, K. A., Santos, D. B., & Garcia, C. A. (2010). Assessment of trace metal levels in catfish (Cathorops spixii) from Sal river estuary, Aracaju, State of Sergipe, northeastern Brazil. Water Environment Research, 82, 2301–2304.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barbour, E. K., Shalb, H. A., Yaghi, R. H., & Sabra, A. H. (2009). Regression of the level of different heavy metals to size of marine organisms harvested from the “Jiyeh” oil spill zone of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 82, 219–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canli, M., & Atli, G. (2003). The relationships between heavy metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn) levels and the size of six Mediterranean dish species. Environmental Pollution, 160, 47–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaves, P. T., & Vendel, A. L. (1996). Aspectos da alimentação de Genidens genidens (Valenciennes) (Siluriformes, Ariidae) na baía de Guaratuba, Paraná. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 13(3), 669–675.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, M. H., & Chen, C. Y. (1999). Bioaccumulation of sediment-bound heavy metals in grey mullet, Liza macrolepis. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 39, 239–244.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Choueri, R. B., Cesar, A., Torres, R. J., Abessa, D. M., Morais, R. D., Pereira, C. D., et al. (2009). Integrated sediment quality assessment in Paranaguá Estuarine System, Southern Brazil. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 72, 1824–1831.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Corrêa, M. F. (1987) Ictiofauna da Baía de Paranaguá e adjacências (Litoral do Estado do Paraná, Brasil). Levantamento e Produtividade. Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brasil, p. 396.

  • Dos Anjos, V. E. (2006) Copper and arsenic speciation in Paranaguá Estuarine Complex. Master thesis, Federal University of Paraná, Brazil, p. 175

  • Farkas, A., Salánki, J., & Specziár, A. (2003). Age and size specific patterns of heavy metals in the organs of freshwater fish Abramis brama L. populating a low contaminated site. Water Research, 37, 959–964.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fávaro, L. F., Frehse, F. A., Oliveira, R. N., & Júnior, R. S. (2005). Reprodução do bagre amarelo Cathorops spixii (Agassiz) (Siluriformes, Ariidae), da baía de Pinheiros, região estuarina do litoral do Paraná, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 22(4), 1022–1029.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Figueiredo, J. L., Menezes, S. A. (1978). Manual de peixes marinhos do sudeste do Brasil. Museu de Zoologia, USP, São Paulo, 2, Teleostei, p. 1,110.

  • Fisk, T., Hobson, K., & Norstrom, R. J. (2001). Influence of chemical and biological factors on trophic transfer of persistent organic pollutants in the northwater polynya marine food web. Environmental Science and Technology, 35, 732–738.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fraenzle, S. (2010). Chemical elements in plants and soils: parameters controlling essentiality. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fraenzle, S. (2011). Estimating and predicting chemical potentials, distributions, speciation modes and mobilities of radiometals in soil, water and biomass. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 48, 102–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraenzle, S., Markert, B. (2002). Three ways ashore: where did terrestrial plants, arthropods and vertebrates come from? Are essentiality patterns of chemical elements living bio(-geo)chemical “fossils”?—interferences from essentiality patterns and the biological system of elements. In: Towarzystwo chemii I InzynierII Ekologicznej: Chemia I Inzynieria Ekologiczna. Ecological Chemistry and Engineering Tom 9, Opole, 949–967.

  • Fraenzle, S., Markert, B., & Wuenschmann, S. (2012). Introduction to environmental engineering. Weinheim: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Francesconi, K. A. (2010). Arsenic species in seafood: origin and human health implications. Pure and Applied Chemistry, 82(2), 373–381.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • IBAMA (2008). APA Cananéia–Iguape–Peruíbe. Retirado de http://www4.icmbio.gov.br/apacip. Accessed 16 August 2011.

  • Jaric, I., Visnjic-Jeftic, Z., Cvijanovic, G., Gacic, Z., Jovanovic, L., Skoric, S., et al. (2011). Determinaton of differential heavy metal and trace element accumulation in liver, gills, intestine and muscle of sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) from the Danube River in Serbia by ICP-OES. Microchemical Journal, 98, 77–81.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Joiris, C. R., Holsbeek, L., & Otchere, F. A. (2000). Mercury in the bivalves Crassostrea tulipa and Perna perna from Ghana. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 38, 618–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joyeux, J. C., Campanha Filho, E. A., & De Jesus, H. C. (2004). Trace metal contamination in estuarine fishes from Vitória Bay, ES, Brazil. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 47(5), 765–774.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karadede, H., Oymak, S. A., & Unlu, E. (2004). Heavy metals in mullet, Liza abu, and catfish, Silurus triostegus, from the Ataturk Dam Lake (Euphrates), Turkey. Environment International, 30, 183–188.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Katsumiti, A., Valdez Domingos, F. X., Azevedo, M., Da Silva, M. D., Damian, R. C., Almeida, M. I., et al. (2009). An assessment of acute biomarkers responses in the demersal catfish Cathorops spixii after de Vicuña oil spill in a harbor estuarine area in southern Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 152, 209–222.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kolm, H., Schoenenberger, M., Piemonte, M., Souza, P., Scühli, G., Mucciatto, M., et al. (2002). Spatial variation of bacteria in surface waters of Paranaguá and Antonina Bays, Paraná, Brazil. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 45(1), 27–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lacerda, L. D. (1998) Biogeochemistry of trace metals and diffuse pollution in mangrove ecosystems. Mangrove ecosystems occasional papers. International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, no. 2, pp. 65.

  • Lana, P. C., Marone, E., Lopes, R. M., & Machado, E. C. (2001). The subtropical estuarine complex of Paranaguá Bay, Brazil. Ecological Studies, 144, 131–145.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liebzeit, G., Brepohl, D., Rizzi, J., Guebert, F., Krome, M., Machado, E., et al. (2011). DDT in biota of Paranaguá Bay, Southern Brazil: recent input and rapid degradation. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 220, 181–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luoma, S. N., & Rainbow, P. S. (2005). Why is metal bioaccumulation so variable? Biodynamics as a unifying concept. Environmental Science and Technology, 39(7), 1921–1931.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mansilla-Rivera, I., & Rodríguez-Sierra, C. J. (2011). Metal levels in fish captured in Puerto Rico and estimation of risk from fish consumption. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 60, 132–144.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marcovecchio, J. E. (2004). The use of Micropogonias furnieri and Mugil liza as bioindicators of heavy metals pollution in La Plata river estuary, Argentina. Science of the Total Environment, 323, 219–226.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Markert, B., & Friese, K. (Eds.). (2000). Trace elements—their distribution and effects in the environment. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markert, B., Breure, A. M., & Zechmeister, H. G. (Eds.). (2003). Bioindicators and biomonitors—principles, concepts and applications. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marone, E., Machado, E. C., Lopes, R. M., & Silva, E. T. (2000). Paranaguá Bay Estuarine Complex, Paraná State. In S. V. Smith, V. Dupra, J. I. Marschall Crossland, & C. J. Crossland (Eds.), Estuarine systems of the South American region: carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes. LOICZ reports and studies (Vol. 15). Texel: LOICZ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathews, T., & Fisher, N. S. (2009). Dominance of dietary intake of metals in marine elasmobranch and teleost fish. Science of the Total Environment, 407, 5156–5161.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meche, A., Martins, M. C., Lofrano, B. E., Hardaway, C. J., Merchant, M., & Verdade, L. (2010). Determination of heavy metals by inductively coupled-plasma optical emission spectrometry in fish from the Piracicaba River in Southern Brazil. Microchemical Journal, 94, 171–174.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moreira, E. D. (2010) Preparo e caracterização de um material de referência de mexilhão Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758). Tese de Doutorado. Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil, p. 283.

  • Possatto, F. E. (2010) Ecologia alimentar nas diferentes fases ontogenéticas de Cathorops spixii, C. agassizii e Sciades herzbegii (Actinopterygii–Ariidae). Dissertação de Mestrado. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brasil, p. 89.

  • Reis, E. G. (1986) A pesca artesanal de bagres marinhos (Siluriformes, Ariidae) no estuário da Lagoa dos Patos (RS). Fundação Universidade do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Documentos técnicos, 5, p. 21.

  • Rejomon, G., Nair, M., & Joseph, T. (2010). Trace metals dynamics in fishes from the southwest coast of India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 167(1–4), 243–255.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sá, F., Machado, E. C., Ângulo, R. J., Veiga, F. A., & Brandini, N. (2006). Arsenic and heavy metals in sediments near Paranaguá port, southern Brasil. Journal of Coastal Research, 39, 1066–1068.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salomons, W., & Forstner, U. (1984). Metals in the hydrocycle (p. 337). Heidelberg: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schüürmann, G., & Markert, B. (Eds.). (1998). Ecotoxicology—ecological fundamentals, chemical exposure and biological effects. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, A. Q., Kazi, T. G., Arain, M. B., Baig, J. A., Afridi, H. I., Kandhro, G. A., et al. (2009). Hazardous impact of arsenic on tissues of same fish species collected from two ecosystems. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 167, 511–515.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shahidul Islam, M., & Tanaka, M. (2004). Impacts of pollution on coastal and marine ecosystems including coastal and marine fisheries and approach for management: a review and synthesis. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 48, 624–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sirot, V., Guérin, T., Volatier, J. L., & Leblanc, J. C. (2009). Dietary exposure and biomarkers of arsenic in consumers of fish and shellfish from France. Science of the Total Environment, 407, 1875–1885.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spach, H. L., Santos, C., & Godefroid, R. S. (2003). Padrões temporais na assembléia de peixes na gamboa do Sucuriú, Baía de Paranguá, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 20(4), 591–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vicente-Martorell, J. J., Galindo-Riaño, M. D., García-Vargas, M., & Granado-Castro, M. D. (2009). Bioavailability of heavy metals monitoring water, sediments and fish species from a polluted estuary. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 162, 823–836.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2004). Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee of Food Additives. Summary of evaluations performed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on food additives (JECFA 1956–2003). Washington, DC: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, ILSI Press International Life Sciences Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, D. A. (1995). Trace metal and major ion interactions in aquatic animals. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 3(1), 8–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, L., & Wang, W. X. (2007). Size dependence of the potential for metal biomagnifications in early life stages of marine fish. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 26(4), 787–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the postgraduate program PGSisCO from Centro de Estudos do Mar (CEM/UFPR) as well as Pâmella Emanuelly Cattani, Alessandra Pereira Majer, and the Laboratory of Geological Oceanography (CEM/UFPR) for (statistical) supporting and preparing the maps. The first author was granted by CAPES–Ciências do Mar.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal and Oceanic Systems, Federal University of Paraná (CEM/UFPR), Av. Beira-Mar s/n, Pontal do Paraná, PR, Brazil

    J. L. F. Angeli & T. H. Trevizani

  2. Universidade Nove de Julho (UNINOVE), São Paulo, Brazil

    A. Ribeiro

  3. Department of Chemical Oceanography, CEM/UFPR, Pontal do Paraná, Paraná, Brazil

    E. C. Machado

  4. Department of Chemical Oceanography, IO/USP, São Paulo, Brazil

    R. C. L. Figueira

  5. Environmental Institute of Scientific Networks (EISN-Institute), Fliederweg 17, 49733, Haren/Erika, Germany

    B. Markert & S. Wuenschmann

  6. International Graduate School Zittau, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Research Group of Environmental Chemistry, Markt 23, 02763, Zittau, Germany

    S. Fraenzle

Authors
  1. J. L. F. Angeli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. T. H. Trevizani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. Ribeiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. E. C. Machado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. R. C. L. Figueira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. B. Markert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. S. Fraenzle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. S. Wuenschmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to B. Markert.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Angeli, J.L.F., Trevizani, T.H., Ribeiro, A. et al. Arsenic and other trace elements in two catfish species from Paranaguá Estuarine Complex, Paraná, Brazil. Environ Monit Assess 185, 8333–8342 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3176-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3176-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation