Some trace elements in the water, sediments and muscles of three fish species along the Tigris River in Misan, southern Iraq

This study aimed to study the concentrations of some trace elements viz. Pb, Ni, Cd, Co, and Fe in the water, sediments and muscle of three fishes of Liza abu, Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi and Carasobarbus luteus in the Tigris River by selecting six stations distributed along the Misan Governorate, southern Iraq. The study was conducted during two seasons, winter and summer. The concentrations of the studied trace elements in water followed the following order: Fe Ni Cd Co Pb. Fe had the highest concentration in the water (28.748), while the lowest onewas Pb (0.0523). The results also recorded the trace elements in order of Fe Ni Pb Cd Co. The highest concentration of Fe in the sediments was 9690.39, and the lowest was cobalt (8.612). The bioconcentration factor (BCF) values in the studied fish species were much higher than the biosedimentation factor (BSF). We conclude that the concentrations of trace elements in the sediments were more than in the waters of the Tigris River, as a storage place of pollutants in the aquatic environments.