Trace element content in tissues of sockeye salmon from several waterbodies of the Kamchatka Peninsula

Abstract

The results of the study of macro- (Ca, Mg) and micro- (Mn, Zn, Cu, Fe) elements content in the pectoral fin tissue of adult sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka from the rivers Bolshaya and Kamchatka as well as from Azabachye Lake (Kamchatka Peninsula) are presented. The significant differences in the contents in samples from the three waterbodies were found. It was ascertained that the largest ash proportion (and the mass fraction of trace elements) in dry matter contained in the tissues of sockeye salmon from Kamchatka River, the smallest in the sample of Azabachye Lake. The Ca content was 98 % of the ash mass in all samples; Mg accounted for slightly less than 2 %. The proportion of the remaining elements varied within 0.1 %, and exactly in this range the differences in the microelement composition between the samples were revealed. In sockeye salmon tissues from the Kamchatka River, the content of heavy metals as well as Ca and Mg was higher than in other samples, and their percentage ratio considerably differed from the others. Obviously, the water bodies studied sufficiently distinguish in hydrochemical indices, and that is the cause of differences in bioaccumulation intensities of trace elements in fish tissues at the freshwater life stage.