Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals in Freshwater Fish: Conservation Concerns at Taman Rimba Ilmu Tanah Bris (Tribe) Unisza

Bioaccumulation refers to the process by which chemical substances accumulate within the tissues of living organisms over time, often resulting in concentrations higher than those found in the surrounding environment. This study aims to assess the concentration of heavy metals in water and fish samples collected from Taman Rimba Ilmu Tanah BRIS (TRIBE), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). Sampling was conducted from November 2022 to January 2023, with both water and freshwater fish samples manually collected. The samples were analyzed using the acid digestion method (AOAC, 2016) and heavy metal concentrations were determined via Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometry (ICP-OES). The heavy metals detected in water samples were copper (Cu) (0.617ppm), iron (Fe) (0.165ppm), manganese (Mn) (0.161ppm) and aluminum (Al) (0.075ppm), in descending order of concentration. The concentrations of Al, Cu, Fe and Mn in water samples from all streams remained within the permissible limits established by the Department of Environment (DOE, 2017). In fish samples, the highest heavy metal accumulation was observed in Osteochilus vittatus, with Fe (1.683ppm) being the most abundant, followed by Al (0.484ppm), Mn (0.287ppm) and Cu (0.081ppm). However, all heavy metal concentrations in fish samples were below the permissible limits set by the Malaysian Food Act (MFA, 1985) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 1983). Statistical analysis using ANOVA indicated a significant difference (p 0.05) in Fe concentrations among fish samples collected from different streams. Water quality classification revealed that station 1 falls within Class II, suitable for recreational activities, whereas stations 2 and 3 are categorized as Class III, indicating the need for extensive treatment before use.