Evaluation of the roach (Rutilus rutilus) and the perch (Perca fluviatilis) for the biomonitoring of metal pollution

Abstract

The bioaccumulation of seven metal cations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn) by two species of fish, the roach (Rutilus rutilus) and the perch (Perca fluviatilis), was studied in two stations of the catchment basin of the Seine River. Metal concentrations were twice as high in fish downstream of urban discharges as upstream. The Cu, Fe, Mn and Pb contents were about 1.5 times as high in autumn as in spring. There was no relationship between the metal concentrations and the body size in either species. There was also no evidence of bioamplification revealed by the adjacent trophic levels of the two fish species. Likewise, the metal concentrations in the fish species studied were much lower than those found in a mollusk belonging to the Lamellibranchiates group: the Anodonta cygnea. The roach and the perch are thus reliable animals for the biomonitoring of metal pollution.