ACUTE TOXICITY AND BEHAVIORAL ALTERATIONS IN CHANNA PUNCTATUS AFTER EXPOSURE TO ETHION

Abstract

Changes in a fish’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 LC 50 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