Monitoring of nuclear abnormalities in peripheral erythrocytes of three fish species from the Goksu Delta (Turkey): genotoxic damage in relation to water pollution Serap Ergene Æ Tolga C ¸ avas ¸ Æ Ayla C ¸ elik Æ Nurcan Ko ¨leli Æ Filiz Kaya Æ Arzu Karahan Accepted: 27 February 2007 / Published online: 23 March 2007 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007 Abstract Goksu Delta is a specially protected area in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The delta is classified as a Wetland of International Importance according to the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. Increases in population have recently taken place in this region due to heavy agricultural activities and discharges of anthropogenic wastes. In the present study, frequencies of erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities such as, micronuclei (MN) and nuclear buds (NB) were investigated in peripheral blood of three fish species; Clarias gariepinus (Catfish), Alburnus orontis (Bleak), and Mugil cephalus (Mullet) from Akgol (AG) and Paradeniz (PD) lagoons of Goksu Delta. Concentrations of heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb) were also measured in the water, sediment samples. MN and NA frequencies were elevated in fish from AG and PD lagoons in comparison with those from upstream re- gions. The results of this study indicate that the lagoons of Goksu Delta contaminated with genotoxic pollutants and that the genotoxicity is related to the agricultural activities and to the discharge of anthropogenic waste waters. Keywords Goksu Delta Á Lagoons Á Nuclear abnormalities Á Genotoxicity Á Heavy metals Introduction Over the last decades aquatic ecosystems have been con- taminated by persistent pollutants, of agricultural and industrial origin (Sanchez-Galan et al. 2001; Cavas ¸ and Ergene Go ¨zu ¨kara 2005a, b). Goksu Delta is an interna- tionally important wetland due to its location along a bird migration route, providing refuge to a large number of waterfowl and constituting a breeding range for rare spe- cies such as sea turtles (Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas) and blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus). The Delta is formed by Goksu River near the Southern part of Silifke town in the Mediterranean region, Turkey. In Goksu Delta fishery is typical production for Akgol and Paradeniz lagoons, and coastal zones of the Mediter- ranean which are not far away from the beaches. Because the most widespread land use pattern is agriculture in the delta, agricultural inputs caused high levels of contamina- tion within the lagoons of Goksu Delta. Previous studies indicated the presence of heavy metal and pesticide pol- lution in the area (Ayas and Kolonkaya 1996; Ayas et al. 1997; Ergene and Saraymen 1999). However, there is study on the genotoxic effects of contamination on fish species inhabiting Goksu Delta. The micronucleus (MN) test, considered to be one of the most useful methods for evaluating genotoxicity in aquatic systems, has been extensively applied on fish species (Al-Sabti and Metcalfe 1995;C ¸ avas ¸ and Ergene Go ¨zu ¨kara 2005a, b). Micronuclei are chromosome frag- ments or whole chromosomes that lag at cell division due to the lack of centromere, damage, or a defect in cytoki- nesis. Micronuclei are formed by both clastogenic and aneugenic compounds. (Heddle et al. 1991). The simulta- neous expression of morphological erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities (NAs) such as nuclear buds (NB) together S. Ergene Á T. C ¸ avas ¸(&) Á A. C ¸ elik Á F. Kaya Á A. Karahan Faculty of Sciences and Letters, Department of Biology, Mersin University, 33342 Mersin, Turkey e-mail: tcavas@mersin.edu.tr N. Ko ¨leli Faculty of Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering, Mersin University, 33342 Mersin, Turkey 123 Ecotoxicology (2007) 16:385–391 DOI 10.1007/s10646-007-0142-4