Metals and metalloids in frequently consumed fish species from Koka and Aba Samuel Reservoirs in central Ethiopia: seasonal accumulation, inter- organ distribution, and health risk assessment

Metals and metalloids in frequently consumed fish species from Koka and Aba Samuel Reservoirs in central Ethiopia: seasonal accumulation, inter- organ distribution, and health risk assessment | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Metals and metalloids in frequently consumed fish species from Koka and Aba Samuel Reservoirs in central Ethiopia: seasonal accumulation, inter- organ distribution, and health risk assessment Bitew K. Dessie, Minbale Aschale, Alemnew Berhanu Kassegne This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8732058/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The deposition of trace metals in freshwater had direct impacts on the ecosystem health. Consequently, in the present work, the levels of B, Zn, Cd, Hg, Cu, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cr, Se, Pb, As, and Co were determined in the organs of freshwater fish species from Lake Koka and Aba Samuel Reservoir in Ethiopia in February and July 2023. The analysis was performed using an ICP-OES after the hot plate digestion. Statistical analyses indicated that the metal levels in fish organs differed significantly (p gill>muscle. There exists a substantial difference in the accumulation of trace metals in muscle and liver (p C. gariepinus > O. niloticus . Seasonal variation of the trace metal concentrations in fish organs indicated elevated concentrations in the dry season. Accumulation patterns of the elements in C. gariepinus at the two sampling sites differed significantly (p < 0.005). With the exception of Pb in all fish species, the values for the possible health risk to human health from eating the examined fish species from the two sample locations were within allowable limits. Biological sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Biological sciences/Zoology Aba Samuel Reservoir Fish tissues Lake Koka Metals and metalloids risk Assessment Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 05 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 26 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 12 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 12 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 11 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 10 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 10 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8732058","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":591302873,"identity":"d28e2c61-ae06-4358-bed2-9bc38e3549a3","order_by":0,"name":"Bitew K. 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Consequently, in the present work, the levels of B, Zn, Cd, Hg, Cu, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cr, Se, Pb, As, and Co were determined in the organs of freshwater fish species from Lake Koka and Aba Samuel Reservoir in Ethiopia in February and July 2023. The analysis was performed using an ICP-OES after the hot plate digestion. Statistical analyses indicated that the metal levels in fish organs differed significantly (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.005). The mean buildup trend of these elements in the organs of fish was liver\u0026gt;gill\u0026gt;muscle. There exists a substantial difference in the accumulation of trace metals in muscle and liver (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.005). The trace metal accumulation pattern for fish types was \u003cem\u003eC. carpio\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;C. gariepinus\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;O. niloticus\u003c/em\u003e. Seasonal variation of the trace metal concentrations in fish organs indicated elevated concentrations in the dry season. Accumulation patterns of the elements in \u003cem\u003eC. gariepinus\u003c/em\u003e at the two sampling sites differed significantly (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.005). With the exception of Pb in all fish species, the values for the possible health risk to human health from eating the examined fish species from the two sample locations were within allowable limits.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Metals and metalloids in frequently consumed fish species from Koka and Aba Samuel Reservoirs in central Ethiopia: seasonal accumulation, inter- organ distribution, and health risk assessment","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-17 14:12:45","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8732058/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-03-05T08:04:17+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-02T19:28:30+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-26T16:31:53+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"263824910586551431356303588302596007230","date":"2026-02-14T09:45:36+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"235443305267565841565412556531608083514","date":"2026-02-12T15:31:33+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"299626423399051799408025592932846053156","date":"2026-02-12T14:29:40+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-12T07:02:22+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"39295273816160601855111597379484717253","date":"2026-02-12T06:00:30+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"132510613408218851125446266769925683686","date":"2026-02-12T05:54:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-12T05:44:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-02-12T05:22:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-12T04:32:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-02-10T09:44:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-02-10T08:56:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"9aea13bd-5f68-47a1-9de4-ec89cb68d907","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 17th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[{"id":62926533,"name":"Biological sciences/Ecology"},{"id":62926534,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology"},{"id":62926535,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"},{"id":62926536,"name":"Biological sciences/Zoology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-11T08:27:32+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-17 14:12:45","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8732058","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8732058","identity":"rs-8732058","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}