Acute copper toxicity in juvenile fat snook Centropomus parallelus (Teleostei: Centropomidae) in sea water

Bruno L Oliveira,Adriana R Chippari-Gomes,Bruno F Silva,Adalto Bianchini,Luiz F Loureiro Fernandes,Geisamanda P Brandão,Levy C Gomes

doi:10.1590/1982-0224-20140040

Abstract

Three experiments were designed to assess the accumulation and acute toxicity of copper (Cu) in juvenile fat snook Centropomusparallelus. The first experiment was performed to determine the 96-h lethal concentration (LC50) of Cu. The second experiment was designed to assess the effects of sublethal concentrations of Cu (0.47 and 0.94 mg/L), while the third one allowed us to test the recovery capacity of fish exposed to the sublethal concentrations Cu and kept in sea water without Cu addition. The LC50value for Cu was found to be 1.88 mg/L Cu. Fish exposed to the sublethal concentrations of Cu showed a significant accumulation of Cu in gills at 96 h respect to the control ones (0.43 µg/g Cu). No significant difference was observed in the accumulation of Cu in gills between fish exposed to 0.47 mg/L (1.09 µg/g Cu) and 0.94 mg/L (1.26 µg/g Cu). Exposure (24 and 96 h) to the sublethal concentrations of Cu tested induced DNA damage in the erythrocytes. The results show that acute exposure to sublethal concentrations induces Cu accumulation and DNA damage in fish, these effects being recovered after 240 h in sea water without Cu addition.

Highlights

Aquatic animals are naturally exposed to various metals, and both geochemical processes and human activities govern the chemical form and concentration of these chemical contaminants in water (Sousa et al, 2007)
The variation in the LC50 values for the same metal may be due to species type, chemical structure of metal compound, and the conditions of the experiment (El-naga et al, 2005)
The main reason for this difference is the variation in the Cu speciation between fresh and sea water, as there is a greater complexation of the metal in sea water lower bioavailability for absorption by fish

Summary

Introduction

Aquatic animals are naturally exposed to various metals, and both geochemical processes and human activities govern the chemical form and concentration of these chemical contaminants in water (Sousa et al, 2007). Was observed, the fish ability to recover after acute exposure to sublethal concentrations of Cu. Material and Methods acclimated to sea water in two 1000 L tanks for 25 days. Fish from each tank were transferred to a new 30 L plastic tank containing control sea water (no Cu addition) to test the fish ability to recover from the pre-exposure to Cu. After 96 and 240 h of the recovery period, three fish were collected from each tank, anesthetized (benzocaine, 100 mg/L) and had their blood sampled for comet assay and micronucleus test, as described in the previous item. Water samples were acidified (1% HNO3; Suprapur, Merck) and further used for Cu concentration analysis

Analytical procedures

Results

Discussion

Literature Cited