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Contamination by metals and pharmaceuticals in northern Taihu Lake (China) and its relation to integrated biomarker response in fish

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Abstract

Taihu Lake is the largest shallow freshwater lake in eastern China and is suffering not only from an increasingly serious threat of eutrophication but also potential ecological risk due to the input of emerging contaminants. Active biomonitoring was conducted in Taihu Lake using transplanted goldfish (Carassius auratus) to determine the contamination by pharmaceuticals and metals and to assess the potential ecological risk. A suite of biomarkers including acetylcholinesterase, ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, glutathione S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities in fish after 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of exposure in situ, as well as pharmaceuticals and metals in water, were determined during the field exposure period. The results indicate that pharmaceuticals exist mainly in Zhushan Bay and Meiliang Bay, while metals are present mainly in Gong Bay. An integrated biomarker response (IBR) was calculated and used to evaluate the ecological risk of the polluted area of Taihu Lake. It was found that Zhushan Bay might present higher risk to fish, followed by Meiliang Bay. IBR values were in good agreement with copper and caffeine concentrations.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51079049), the China’s National Basic Research Program (2010CB429006) and Qing Lan Project of Jiangsu Province.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resources Development of Shallow Lakes of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, People’s Republic of China

    Guanghua Lu, Xiaofan Yang, Zhihua Li, Haizhou Zhao & Chao Wang

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  1. Guanghua Lu
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  2. Xiaofan Yang
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  3. Zhihua Li
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  4. Haizhou Zhao
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  5. Chao Wang
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Correspondence to Guanghua Lu.

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Lu, G., Yang, X., Li, Z. et al. Contamination by metals and pharmaceuticals in northern Taihu Lake (China) and its relation to integrated biomarker response in fish. Ecotoxicology 22, 50–59 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-012-1002-4

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