DETERMINATION OF SOME TRACE ELEMENT LEVELS IN DIFFERENT SEASONS IN MUSCLE, LIVER AND BRAIN TISSUES OF CLARIAS GARIEPINUS (BURCHELL, 1822)

African sharp-tooth catfish known as Clarias gariepinus in international literature is the most common fish species in among freshwater fishes. We investigated levels of Al, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn and Cr elements in muscle, liver and brain of C. gariepinus in different seasons. The fishes used in experiment was obtained in Ceyhan river basin where is situated the south of Turkey. This study was divided as winter group (n=4, female fish) and summer group (n=4, female fish). The organs used in experiment that include muscle, liver and brain tissues were incised. These organs were extracted and were analyzed by AAS (Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer) for determination of elements. The accumulation of Al element in summer is lower than winter in muscle tissue, but it is higher in the brain (p<0.05). The accumulation of Mn element in summer is higher than winter in brain tissue (p<0.05). The accumulation of Fe element in summer is lower than winter in only muscle tissue (p<0.05). However, the accumulation of Cr element wasn't evaluated statistically due to below the detection limit. According to obtained results from evidences, accumulation of determined trace elements in various tissues were determined statistically differentness as seasonal. As a result, we suggest that trace element levels may be changed in C. gariepinus tissues because of the change of its habitat conditions.