Abstract
The present investigation aimed to assess the concentrations of selected heavy metals in water and sediments and their bioaccumulation in tissues of freshwater mussels and their histopathological effects on the digestive gland, gills, and gonads of Anodonta cygnea. Water, sediments, and freshwater mussel samples were collected at four sites, that is, reference and polluted sites, along the Kabul River, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The polluted sites were receiving effluents from the industrial, agricultural, municipal, and domestic sources. The order of metals in the water was Zn > Pb > Ni > Cu > Mn > Fe > Cr > Cd, in sediments the order was Fe > Zn > Cr > Ni > Mn > Pb > Cu > Cd, and in the soft tissues the order was Fe > Zn > Mn > Pb > Cu > Cr > Ni > Cd. Histopathological alterations observed in polluted sites of Kabul River were inflammation, hydropic vacuolation, and lipofuscin pigments (in digestive gland), gill lamellar fusion, dilated hemolymphatic sinus, clumping, and generation of cilia and hemocytic infiltration (in gills), and atresia, necrosis, granulocytoma, hemocytic infiltration, and lipofuscin pigments (in gonads). The histopathological alterations in the organs of Anodonta cygnea can be considered as reliable biomarkers in biomonitoring of heavy metal pollution in aquatic ecosystems.
Highlights
Advancement in human lifestyle due to science and technology causes contamination of environment
This study investigated heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in water, sediments, and soft tissues and the effect of these metals on the digestive gland, gills, and gonads of freshwater mussels from the Kabul River, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
The concentrations of heavy metals in water samples from both polluted and reference sites were within permissible limits as laid down by NEQS 1997 [31]
Summary
Advancement in human lifestyle due to science and technology causes contamination of environment. In order to assess the extent of heavy metal toxicity, it is essential to understand water quality parameters [3]. The heavy metals can react with various contents of aquatic environment and can associate with various geochemical phases in the sediments [4]. Geochemical speciation and distribution of metals in the defined chemical fraction have been used in predicting the potential contamination, bioavailability, and mobility [5,6,7]. Freshwater mussels are desirable organisms for biomonitoring purposes [8,9,10], since these organisms are in direct contact with polluted parts of water and sediments of their habitats can accumulate high levels of heavy metals in soft parts of their bodies [11]. Freshwater mussels are sensitive indicators of chemical pollution due to BioMed Research International
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