Heavy metals content in organs and tissues of fish from the Belaya River

This paper considers the content and peculiarities of heavy metals accumulation in the organs and tissues of fish from the Belaya River, caught in the cities of Birsk and Ufa in the Republic of Bashkortostan. To determine the content of iron, copper, cadmium and lead ions, the muscles, liver and blood of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) and common bream (Blicca bjoerkna L.) were examined. Both species belong to herbivorous fish, but they prefer different habitats: carp is a ground fish, and the bream lives in the water column. The choice of fish species under study is related to their wide distribution in this river. Studies have shown that biogenic elements (iron, copper) are better accumulated in the fish blood, and for the other heavy metals (lead, cadmium) studied, the accumulating organ is the liver. Analysis of tissues and organs for the presence of heavy metal ions was carried out by atomic absorption spectroscopy in the laboratory of environmental monitoring of physico-chemical environment contamination in the Birsk branch of the Bashkir State University (Birsk). The results obtained can serve as a basis for monitoring the ecological state of the river water and the hydrobionts living there.