Bioaccumulation of rare earth elements and trace elements in different tissues of the golden grey mullet (Chelon auratus) in the southern Caspian Sea

Abstract

Rare earth elements are essential for modern life, although they are also classified as emerging pollutants. Currently, fish studies on these elements are very limited in general, but, with regard to the Caspian Sea, there is no reference to them at all. For this reason, our objective was to determine the concentrations of these elements in the golden grey mullet (Chelon auratus) and to contrast its bioaccumulation patterns with those of arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead. For that purpose, 20 fish were caught in the southern part of the Caspian Sea. Heavy rare earth element concentrations were higher than light ones and the terbium levels were very high, probably due to anthropogenic contamination. The intestine tissue gave the highest concentrations, which could be indicative of a very low gastrointestinal absorption. For both rare earth and trace elements, muscle was the tissue that accumulated the least, despite which, cadmium and lead levels in muscle were of concern.