Sinaei Mahmood, Bolouki Mehdi
Department of Fisheries, Chabahar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chabahar, Iran.
Department of Environmental, P.O. Box 14155-7383, Tehran, Iran.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2017 Nov;73(4):552-561. doi: 10.1007/s00244-017-0421-x. Epub 2017 Jun 19.
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) has been a species of global concern for decades. In this study, heavy metals (mercury: Hg; Cadmium: Cd; Lead: Pb; Copper: Cu; and Zinc: Zn) were measured in blood and three egg fraction of green sea turtles nesting on the northern coast of Sea of Oman. Heavy metals concentrations in blood, yolk, albumen, and egg shell ranged between 0.16-36.78, 0.006-33.88, 0.003-4.02, and 0.002-6.85 μg/g (ww), respectively. According to the results, all heavy metals found in blood samples (n = 12) also were detected in the various parts of the eggs (n = 48). Moreover, there were no significant differences between concentrations of heavy metals in different clutches laid in a nesting season. However, Pb concentrations in blood samples significantly increased in later clutches (p < 0.05), whereas Cu concentrations in blood samples exhibit a declining trend (p < 0.05). These results reveal the existence of maternal transfer phenomenon in green sea turtles on the northern coast of Sea of Oman. Results of this study suggest that heavy metals could be one of the factors influencing reductions in fertilization and hatching success. Results also indicate that green sea turtle on the northern coast of Sea of Oman have high capacity in rapid response and detoxification of heavy metals and/or from the low exposure levels of these turtles to the heavy metals. Further research is required concerning the effects of heavy metals on green sea turtles, especially on their possible influence of fetal development of turtles.
几十年来，绿海龟（蠵龟）一直是全球关注的物种。在本研究中，对阿曼海北部海岸筑巢的绿海龟的血液和三种蛋成分中的重金属（汞：Hg；镉：Cd；铅：Pb；铜：Cu；锌：Zn）进行了测量。血液、蛋黄、蛋清和蛋壳中的重金属浓度分别在0.16 - 36.78、0.006 - 33.88、0.003 - 4.02和0.002 - 6.85μg/g（湿重）之间。根据结果，在血液样本（n = 12）中发现的所有重金属也在蛋的各个部分（n = 48）中被检测到。此外，在筑巢季节产下的不同窝卵中，重金属浓度没有显著差异。然而，后期窝卵的血液样本中铅浓度显著增加（p < 0.05），而血液样本中的铜浓度呈下降趋势（p < 0.05）。这些结果揭示了阿曼海北部海岸绿海龟中存在母体转移现象。本研究结果表明，重金属可能是影响受精率和孵化成功率降低的因素之一。结果还表明，阿曼海北部海岸的绿海龟对重金属具有快速反应和解毒的高能力，或者这些海龟对重金属的暴露水平较低。关于重金属对绿海龟的影响，特别是对海龟胎儿发育的可能影响，还需要进一步研究。
