Haematological and Toxicological studies on brackish water fish Etroplus maculatus (Bloch)”

Fishes are one of the most important members of the aquatic food chain, and through them some toxicants may reach human beings as well. The selection of organisms for toxicity test is mainly based on certain criteria like its ecological status, position within the food chain, suitability for laboratory studies, genetically stable, uniform populations and adequate background data on the organism (Buikema et al., 1982). The species selected for the present study Etroplus maculatus satisfy most of the above protocols. Rechten (1980) opined it as a laboratory favorite of fish researchers. However, there are difficulties in the rise of fishes for pollution assessment impact. Most important of these is our limited understanding of the mechanism of toxicity. The interpretation of the significance or specificity of a measured biological response could there for become difficult. Not withstanding these limitations, attempts have been made to the normal haematology and to analyze the impact of heavy metal at realistic levels to the experimental media, on the haematology, and enzymatic activity and histology of Etroplus maculatus

Dept. of Marine Biology, Microbiology and Biochemistry Cochin University of Science and Technology

Cochin University of Science and Technology