Publication Date
5-1978
Advisor(s) - Committee Chair
Robert Hoyt, Gary Dillard, Rudolph Prins
Degree Program
Department of Biology
Degree Type
Master of Science
Abstract
Scales of the stoneroller, Campostoma anomalum (Rafinesque), common shiner, Notropus cornutus (Mitchill), and the bluntnose minnow, Pimephales notatus (Rafinesque) were analyzed by means of atomic absorption spectrophotometry to determine levels of cadmium, calcium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, nickel and zinc. Metal concentrations were determined seasonally and relationship established between scale metal content and environmental water metal levels.
Calcium, iron manganese and zinc were found in all samples analyzed. Cadmium, copper, lead and nickel were not observed in measurable quantities.
Metal concentrations varied interspecifically, but most showed little fluctuation in response to increased metal content of the water. Elemental composition of the scales was found to have been selective in that zinc and manganese were more readily taken up, even when present in considerably lower concentrations in the water. The metal content of scales was found to be related to behavioral characteristics of the species and the size of the fish.
Disciplines
Biology | Life Sciences | Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Recommended Citation
Dahl, Thomas, "An Analysis of the Heavy Metal Content of the Scales of Several Fishes in Southwestern Kentucky" (1978). Masters Theses & Specialist Projects. Paper 2083.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/2083