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Assessment of Metals in Fish from Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia

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Abstract

The concentrations of the metals cadmium, copper, mercury, lead, silver, selenium and zinc were measured in the muscle and gonad tissues of five species of fish, yellowfin bream (Acanthopagrus australis), silverbiddy (Gerres subfasciatus) and trumpeter whiting (Sillago maculata), southern log finned goby (Favonigobious lateralis), and the halfbridled goby (Arenigobius frenatus) from the contaminated Lake Macquarie NSW and three relatively uncontaminated reference estuaries, Wallis Lake, Port Stephens, and St. Georges Basin NSW. Fish from Lake Macquarie were found to have elevated concentrations of selenium, lead, cadmium, and zinc in one or both of these tissues in these species. Increased concentrations relative to background concentrations were most often observed at Cockle Bay, the site with the highest concentrations of these metals in sediments. The degree to which fish accumulated metals appeared to be related to life history characteristics of the species, with sediment-dwelling fish showing the greatest propensity to accumulate metals.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge Tim Ingleton, Murray Root, and Samantha Welman for their assistance in the field. We also thank David Nicols, Peter Scanes, and Klaus Koop for helping facilitate this study. Alana Burt, Amina Price, and Katarina Mikac are thanked for their assistance with the fish dissection and digestion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Contaminants Section, New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change, P.O. Box 29, Lidcombe, NSW, 1825, Australia

    A. C. Roach

  2. Ecochemistry Laboratory, Institute of Applied Ecology, Health, Design and Science, University of Canberra, Bruce, ACT, 2601, Australia

    W. Maher & F. Krikowa

Authors
  1. A. C. Roach
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  2. W. Maher
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  3. F. Krikowa
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Correspondence to A. C. Roach.

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Roach, A.C., Maher, W. & Krikowa, F. Assessment of Metals in Fish from Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 54, 292–308 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-007-9027-z

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