The accumulation and retention of 59Fe and 58Co by the plaice, Pleuronectes platessa L.

The accumulation of ⁵⁹Fe and ⁵⁸Co from water by plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.) has been studied in tissues, and their levels of accumulation related to stable element concentrations. The retention of both radionuclides from labelled Nereis and labelled pellets has also been examined, and the loss of activity from intraperitoneal injections followed over a three-month-period. Biological half-times of the exchange with water have been calculated for many organs, although the rate of accumulation for some tissues could only be expressed as a linear function; however, for both radionuclides the direct accumulation from water resulted in concentration factors of less than 1 % of the values inferred from the stable element data. The relevance of such observations to heavy metal pollution at the higher trophic levels is discussed.