Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T01:52:47.640Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Parasites as heavy metal bioindicators in the shark Carcharhinus dussumieri from the Persian Gulf

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2007

M. MALEK ,
M. HASELI ,
I. MOBEDI ,
M. R. GANJALI  and
K. MacKENZIE
M. MALEK*
Affiliation:
School of Biology, University College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
M. HASELI
Affiliation:
School of Biology, University College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
I. MOBEDI
Affiliation:
Faculty of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
M. R. GANJALI
Affiliation:
School of Chemistry, University College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
K. MacKENZIE
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences (Zoology), The University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
*
*Corresponding author: School of Biology, University College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: mmalek@khayam.ut.ac.ir
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

In this study the lead and cadmium concentrations in the liver, intestine, muscle and gonad of the shark Carcharhinus dussumieri and its parasites, Anthobothrium sp. and Paraorigmatobothrium sp. (Cestoda), were measured and compared. Tissue samples were collected from Iranian coastal waters of the Persian Gulf. After tissue preparation, the cadmium and lead concentrations were analysed using the Inductively Coupled Plasma technique. The results revealed that lead and cadmium concentrations in both parasite species were many times higher than in the host tissues. The results strongly support the view that helminth parasites are extremely sensitive early warning bioindicators, particularly in sensitive environments under threat but where pollution levels are presently low. They may also have a beneficial effect on the health of their hosts by acting as heavy metal filters.

Keywords

Carcharhinus dussumieriAnthobothrium sp.Paraorigmatobothrium sp.Persian Gulfheavy metalsbioindicators
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 134 , Issue 7 , July 2007 , pp. 1053 - 1056
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Galli, P., Crosa, G. and Occhipinti-Ambrogi, A. (1998). Heavy metals concentrations in acanthocephalan parasites compared to their fish host. Chemosphere 37, 2983–2988.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacKenzie, K. (1999). Parasites as pollution indicators in marine ecosystems: a proposed early warning system. Marine Pollution Bulletin 38, 955–959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siddall, R. and Sures, B. (1998). Uptake of lead by Pomphorhynchus laevis cystacanths in Gammarus pulex and immature worms in chub (Leuciscus cephalus). Parasitology Research 84, 573–577.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sures, B. (2001). The use of fish parasites as bioindicators of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems: a review. Aquatic Ecology 35, 245–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sures, B. (2003). Accumulation of heavy metals by intestinal helminths in fish: an overview and perspective. Parasitology 126 (Suppl.), S53–S60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sures, B. (2004). Environmental parasitology: relevancy of parasites in monitoring environmental pollution. Trends in Parasitology 20, 170–177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sures, B. and Reimann, N. (2003). Analysis of trace metals in the Antarctic host-parasite system Notothenia coriiceps and Aspersentis megarhynchus (Acanthocephala) caught at King George Island, South Shetland Islands. Polar Biology 26, 680–686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sures, B. and Siddall, R. (1999). Pomphorhynchus laevis: The intestinal acanthocephalan as a lead sink for its fish host, chub Leuciscus cephalus. Experimental Parasitology 93, 66–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sures, B., Siddall, R. and Taraschewski, H. (1999). Parasites as accumulation indicators of heavy metal pollution. Parasitology Today 15, 16–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sures, B. and Taraschewski, H. (1995). Cadmium concentrations of two adult acanthocephalans, Pomphorhynchus laevis and Acanthocephalus lucii, compared with their fish hosts and cadmium and lead levels in larvae of A. lucii compared with their crustacean host. Parasitology Research 81, 494–497.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sures, B. and Taraschewski, H. (1999). Parasites as accumulation indicators of heavy metal pollution. Parasitology Today 15, 16–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sures, B. and Taraschewski, H. (2001). The use of fish parasites as bioindicators of heavy metal in aquatic ecosystems: a review. Aquatic Ecology 35, 245–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sures, B., Taraschewski, H. and Jackwerth, E. (1994 a). Comparative study of lead accumulation in different organs of perch (Perca fluviatilis) and its intestinal parasite Acanthocephalus lucii. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 52, 269–273.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sures, B., Taraschewski, H. and Jackwerth, E. (1994 b). Lead accummulation in Pomphorhynchus laevis and its host. Journal of Parasitology 80, 355–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sures, B., Taraschewski, H. and Jackwerth, E. (1994 c). Lead content of Paratenuisentis ambiguus (Acanthocephala), Anguillicola crassus (Nematodes) and their host Anguilla anguilla. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 19, 105–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sures, B., Taraschewski, H. and Rokicki, J. (1997). Lead and cadmium content of two cestodes, Monobothrium wageneri and Bothriocephalus scorpii, and their fish hosts. Parasitology Research 83, 618–623.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tenora, F., Baruš, V., Kracmar, S. and Dvoracek, J. (2000). Concentrations of some heavy metals in Ligula intestinalis plerocercoids (Cestoda) and Philometra ovata (Nematoda) compared to some of their hosts (Osteichthyes). Helminthologia 37, 15–18.Google Scholar
Thielen, F., Zimmermann, S., Baska, F., Taraschewski, H. and Sures, B. (2004). The intestinal parasite Pomphorhynchus laevis (Acanthocephala) from barbel as a bioindicator for metal pollution in the Danube River near Budapest, Hungary. Environmental Pollution 129, 421–429.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Turčekova, L., Hanzelova, V. and Spakulova, M. (2002). Concentration of heavy metals in perch and its endoparasites in the polluted water reservoir in Eastern Slovakia. Helminthologia 39, 23–28.Google Scholar
Williams, H. and MacKenzie, K. (2003). Marine parasites as pollution indicators: an update. Parasitology 126 (Suppl.), S27–S41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed