Heavy Metals Concentration in Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum, 1792) from the Moroccan Mediterranean Coast and Potential Human Health Risk Assessment
Table 3
Mean ± standard deviation of cadmium, mercury, lead, and arsenic concentrations in the gill of Sardina pilchardus from the Mediterranean coast of Morocco.
Metals (µg g−1)
Site
Winter
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Cadmium
Beni-Ensar
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
0.313b ± 0.004
<0.001 ± 0.000
Ras el Ma
0.263b ± 0.010
<0.001 ± 0.000
0.312c ± 0.015
<0.001 ± 0.000
El-Houceima
0.274b ± 0.010
0.310c ± 0.015
0.226a ± 0.015
0.309c ± 0.015
Mercury
Beni-Ensar
0.013b ± 0.001
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
Ras el Ma
0.016c ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
0.011b ± 0.015
El-Houceima
0.013b ± 0.001
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
Lead
Beni-Ensar
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
Ras el Ma
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
El-Houceima
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
<0.001 ± 0.000
Arsenic
Beni-Ensar
1.086b ± 0.010
0.807a ± 0.011
1.62d ± 0.015
1.336c ± 0.010
Ras el Ma
2.52d ± 0.010
1.037a ± 0.001
1.62c ± 0.001
1.34b ± 0.010
El-Houceima
1.408c ± 0.008
0.959a ± 0.009
1.129b ± 0.009
1.887d ± 0.009
The results are expressed in μg·g−1 wet weight; significant differences () between means are shown with different lowercase letters (a–d).