ACUTE TOXICITY AND BEHAVIORAL ALTERATIONS IN CHANNA PUNCTATUS AFTER EXPOSURE TO ETHIONJAYANTA KUMAR SAHU, PRABEEN NAIK, RATIKANTA PRADHAN, RATNAKAR PARIDA, PURUSHOTTAM PATNAIK, BHABANI SABAT, SUBHASWETA MAHARANA, NARSINGH NAIK, SURAJ MANDAL, SURAJ MISTRY, PAPU BACHHAR AND PRAJNA PARAMITA NAIKAbstract Changes in a fishâs behaviour serve as an effective measure for detecting changes in the environment. Pesticide not only alters the physico-chemical properties of water but also has a major influence on fish behavioral changes triggered by any modification in the aquatic environment, eventually leading to physiological changes. As a result, the current study, investigated the behavioural changes produced by sub-acute exposure to the organophosphate pesticide Ethion in the freshwater fish Channa punctatus. To establish the LC50 value, fish were exposed to Ethion at four sub-lethal concentrations: 0.001 ml/l, 0.002 ml/l, 0.003 ml/l, and 0.004 ml/l for 96 hours. Fish were kept in four different conditions, i.e control, 5 %, 10 %,15 % of the calculated LD 50 for 96 hrs to study the effect of ethion. Time and dose were both factors in the changes in behavioural characteristics. Ethion exposure had a negative impact on the fishâs usual behaviour, as seen by lower swimming activity, a drop in surfacing frequency, and opercular motions. Moreover, progressive depigmentation of body, and descaling were observed in a dose and time dependent manner upon ethion exposure. The present work suggest that Ethion is a potent ecotoxic agent and such finding ought to raise awareness of pesticide poisoning issues in developing nations among clinical toxicologists, health authorities, and policy makers. |