Bull.Environ. Contam.Toxicol.(1994)52:26%273 9 1994 Springer-Verlag/~ew York Inc. i Environrnental Contamination |and Toxicology Comparative Study of Lead Accumulation in Different Organs of Perch (Perca fluviatilis) and Its Intestinal Parasite Acanthocephalus lucii B. Sures, 1 H. Taraschewski, 1 E. Jackwerth 2 llnstitut f0r Spezielle Zoologie und Parasitologie, Ruhr Universit&t Bochum, D-4630 Bochum, Germany 2Arbeitsgruppe for Mikro- und Spurenanalyse, Ruhr Universit&t Bochum, D-4630 Bochum, Germany Received:12March1993/Accepted: 20June 1993 Lead is known as an important aquatic contaminant with different toxic effects on various organisms. Considerable data are availa- ble on lead in aquatic ecosystems including water, sediments, fishes (Biney and Beeko 1991) and invertebrates (Vranken and Help 1986). Until now, no quantitative investigations have been published comparing the heavy metal (Pb, Cd, Hg) content in parasites with that in their final or intermediate hosts, although such parasites are very prevalent in many fish and invertebrate populations. Only Brown and Pascoe (1989) reported that the amphipod Gammarus pulex parasitized with the acanthocephalan Pomphorhynchus laevis was two or three times more sensitive to cadmium at low exposure concentrations (2.1 ~ l'0 than unin- fected conspecifics. The objective of the present study was to combine trace analytical and parasitological methods to investigate lead concentrations in different tissues (muscle, liver and intestine) of perch (Perca tluviatilis) and in the palaeacanthocephalan Acanthocephalus lucii parasitizing the intestine of these fishes. The fish were caught in the river Ruhr which drains the densely populated and industrialized Ruhr-district. MATI~IAL AND METHOI~ Six perch, Perca fluriatilis, caught by a fish trap during January to March 1992 in the Ruhr-lake near Bochum were used for the study. The fish had a body weight between 100 and 350 g and a length between 20 and 29 cm. After being brought alive in river Correspondence to: B. Sures 269