BIOACCUMULATION OF HEAVY METALS IN THREE BENTONIC FISH SPECIES FROM MONZON RIVER, HUANUCO REGION

Abstract

The benthic fishes from the Amazon river have a greater accumulation of heavy metals due to their eating habits. They represent a risk to public health if they are consumed in large quantities by the human population. The purpose of this study is to determine the concentration of cadmium, lead, and copper in the following fish species: boquichico (Prochilodus nigricans), carachama (Chaetostoma sp) and julilla (Parodon buckleyi). Twelve specimens per specimen were captured in three samples from the Monzon river, the quantification was made with a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer, after acid digestive muscle, liver, sediment and water. The results show that three species have big quantitive of accumulation of the three metals inside of the liver. However, inside of the muscle cadmium concentrations are 1.62 ppm in julilla, 1.59 ppm in carachama and 0.73 ppm in boquichico. Also, the average lead concentrations were 5.09 ppm in carachama, 0.61 ppm in boquichico. In contrast, it was not determined in julilla. In addition, average copper concentrations were 2.78 ppm in julilla; 2.44 ppm in boquichico and 2.41 ppm in carachama. It concluded that the greatest bioaccumulation occurs in the liver, and all of the three species accumulated cadmium and copper inside their muscle; carachama and boquichico accumulated lead inside their muscle; and the species with the highest concentration of cadmium and copper inside their muscle is julilla.