Sandimirov S. Heavy metal contents in whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) along a pollution gradient in a subarctic watercourse. Environ. Monit. Assess. 2011, V. 182, №1-4, p. 301-316.

Environ Monit Assess (2011) 182:301-316 307 Fig. 2 Concentrations of a Ni, b Cu and c Cd in gills, liver, kidney and muscle tissue of SR (filled squares) and DR whitefish (circles) in the studied lake localities (1 Kuetsjarvi, 2 Skrukkebukta, 3 Vaggatem, 4 Rajakoski, 5 Lake Inari). Note different scales on the y-axes. Vertical bars indicate SE a) Ni b) Cu c) Cd CD С о сшос о о 0D 1 2 3 4 5 k - Ф - . *Ф с> - ■ *P ■ \ * ■ .0 , Ф Lake locality in gills, liver and kidney (Fig. 2b , c; P < 0.01), but less consistent in muscle tissue of the SR whitefish. The Pb concentrations in gills and liver also sig­ nificantly decreased for both morphs with increas­ ing distance to the smelters (Fig. 3b ; Kruskal- Wallis test, P < 0.01), whereas no significant reductions were observed for the muscle and kid­ ney tissue (Kruskal-Wallis test; P > 0.05). The Zn and Hg concentrations in fish were variable, but revealed no distinct patterns with increasing distance to the smelters (Fig. 3a, c). The levels of Ni in liver, gills, kidney and muscle were all significantly and positively correlated to the Ni content in surficial sediments (Table 3, Fig. 4, DR and SR whitefish combined), and with Ni levels in water samples (Table 3). Cu levels in gills and liver were significantly correlated to Cu levels in surficial sediments and in water, whereas Cd levels in gills and liver similarly were significantly correlated to Cd levels in sediments (Table 3, Fig. 4) . For Zn, and Hg, no significant correlation was found between the environmental levels and levels in fish tissue, whereas the Pb level in muscle showed a significant correlation with the level in water (Table 3) . For all metals except Hg, the lowest concentrations were observed in the muscle tissue (Figs. 2 and 3) . For Hg, the lowest concentrations were seen in the gills and muscle tissue of the fish whereas the highest levels occurred in liver and kidneys. For Zn and Pb the highest concentrations were seen in the gills (Fig. 3). Cu revealed the highest concentrations in the liver, and Ni and Cd peaked in the kidneys (Figs. 2 and 4). Springer