Potential Usage of Pufferfish Dentin as a Metal Accumulation Indicator

Çiftçi, Nuray | Ayas, Deniz

The pufferfish are non-indigenous species in the Mediterranean Sea that do not have predators in the food chain. Therefore, the determination of heavy metal accumulation in pufferfish species can be considered as natural chelation for the aquatic environment. The present study, the potential usage of dentin tissue as an indicator of heavy metal bioaccumulation was examined in pufferfish species. The accumulation of Co, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mo, Ni, Se, Al, Cd, Pb, As, Cr in dentin, liver, kidney and muscle tissues of four pufferfish species (Lagocephalus sceleratus, Lagocephalus spadiceus, Lagocephalus suezensis, and Torquigener flavimaculosus) were captured in the Göksu River and Yeşjlovacık coasts of Turkey by a commercial trawler. The different bioaccumulation levels were found in each species...