Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

TISSUE HISTOPATHOLOGY OF THE FRESHWATER CRAB, BARYTELPHUSA GUERINI (H.MILNE EDWARDS) (DECAPOD: POTAMIDEA) UNDER SUGAR INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT TOXICITY

M.S. Gangotri and L. S. Matkar

Abstract

The Sugar industries and their ancillary units are causing pollution of rivers Pravara, Mula and Godavari, lakes and wells of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra State, India. It is perishing the edible aquatic animals like prawns, carbs, snails and fishes. Therefore, the efforts were made to study the histopathological lesions in the various tissues of the freshwater crab, Barytelphusa guerini exposed to acute and chronic toxicities of sugar industrial effluents. The histological observations of the gill sections of the treated animals clearly showed that the sugar industrial effluents caused many alterations in the normal histology ofgills. The gills were damaged and the degree of damage increased with the period of exposure from 4 to 30 days. When matured testes were exposed to acute and chronic toxicity tests for 4 and 30 days during the breeding and non-breeding season showed damage to the testicular layar, inhibition of spermatogenic elements, vacuolations in the testicular tubules. In acute treatment, when female crabs were exposed for 4 days showed highly damaged structure of epithelial layer, vacuolations and shrinkage of oocytes. In chronic treatments, the dengeneration of peripheral oocytes, damage in oocytes epithelial layer and vacuolization in the periphery of oocytes were recorded after 30 days of exposure. Further, It was also noticed that the gonads of the crab, Barytelphusaguerini were significantly affected by the sugar industrial effluents during breeding season. But the effects were more pronounced during the nonbreeding season, suggesting that the environmental factors are favourable to the carb during the breeding season and therefore, did not affect the gonads prominently. The degree of damage due to sugar industrial effluents was more in chronic treatment, when compared with that of acute exposure.