Changes in the contents of strontium, barium, and lead in scales of bream Abramis brama from the Mozhaisk Reservoir over a quarter century.

The heavy metal contents in the scales of bream (Abramis brama) from the Mozhaisk Reservoir collected in the second half of the 1980s were compared to the current values. The concentrations of three out of the seven elements studied in the bream scales have changed severalfold during the past quarter century: that of strontium has decreased, and those of barium and lead have increased. Short-term variations of heavy metal contents have proved to be smaller than the observed long-term differences. There is grounds to believe that these long-term differences adequately reflect the changes that have occurred in the water body.