Dr. Nirbhay Sudhir Pimple
Department of Zoology, Abasaheb Garware College, Karve road Pune-4. Maharashtra (INDIA)
Abstract
Mystus bleekeri (Day,1877) and Hypselobarbus kolus (Sykes,1839) from the
Northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra harbor the riverine system in Maharashtra.
Nira river located in Pune district near Bhor, is one of the natural habitats of the fishes
under study. Both the fishes are consumed by the local population and are one the
source of protein in their dietary constitution. The research was conducted in 2019 to
determine the accumulation of heavy metals in several organs, including the liver,
kidney, gut, and gills. Atomic Absorption spectroscopy was used to conduct the analysis.
Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium, and copper were detected in the
tissues studied in this study. The overall pattern of heavy metal distribution in various
tissues is as follows: Pb > Cu > Cr > Cd. The organs with the highest concentrations
of heavy metals are the gill > kidney > intestine > liver > muscle. The values obtained
are under permissible level advocated by WHO, but the presence of these heavy metals
is an alarming situation and would lead to bio accumulation and disturb the
physiological function of fishes under study as well as cause adverse effect on human
being.