Acute Cd Toxicity, Metal Accumulation, and Ion Loss in Southern Catfish (Silurus meridionalis Chen)

Abstract

The amounts of cadmium in multiple organs and the amounts of Na+ and Ca2+ in the carcass were measured in dead and surviving southern catfish exposed to different concentrations of Cd. The 96 h median lethal concentration was 6.85 mg/L. The Cd content and Cd accumulation rate were positively correlated with Cd exposure concentrations, and there were significant differences between dead and surviving individuals, indicating that both Cd content in tissues and Cd accumulation rates were correlated with mortality. Cd levels in the liver of dead fish were saturated. A lethal threshold for Cd concentration in the whole fish was obtained. Bioconcentration factors for Cd did not decrease with increasing exposure. Acute exposure to waterborne Cd caused a significant decrease in the ion content of the fish carcass. There was a significant difference between the Na+ content of the carcass of dead fish (34.54 μmol/g wet weight) and surviving fish (59.34 μmol/g wet weight), which was not the case with the Ca2+ content, indicating that the lethal toxicity of Cd was probably related to the decrease in Na+ content. Collectively, these results suggest that whole-fish Cd concentration and carcass Na+ content can be useful indicators of fish acutely exposed to Cd.