Metal concentrations in fish otoliths in relation to body composition after laboratory exposure to mercury and lead

Abstract

Juvenile sand g o b ~e s Pomatosch~stus mlnutus, plaice Pleuronectes platessa, and sole Solea solea were exposed to high or low levels of mercury or lead for 45 d In the laboratory Points on the otollth corresponding to the core (pre-treatment), the start of exposure, midway through the exposure, and the termmation of exposure were sampled and analysed by laser ablat~on -inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) There were significant Increases In the metal content of the goby and sole otoliths after exposure to mercuiy or lead, and the differences between the treatment levels for each element weie significant Plaice otol~ths showed little increase in metal accumulat~on, and the difference between treatments was not sign~ficant The relationship between exposule level, otolith metal concentration, and the metal concentration in flsh muscle t i s s u ~ was complex In general, lead accumulated faster in the otolith and uptake was higher at low exposuic levels Mercury concentlations in fish tissue generally paralleled the concentration measured in the otoliths and the exposure level Lead concentratlons in f ~s h otol~ths were inversely related to t ~s s u e concentratlons