JAYANTA 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 NAIK
Abstract
Changes in a fishââ¬â¢s 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 fishââ¬â¢s 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.