Effects of dieldrin on life stages of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell).

Early life stages of Clarias gariepinus were found to be less sensitive to acute dieldrin toxicity than were those of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus; 96-h LC50 values for 37-day-old fry were 11. 7 and 4.95 microg liter-1, respectively. The growth of C. gariepinus fry was unaffected by 30 days of exposure to 2.4 microg liter-1 dieldrin under static conditions with water renewal every 96 h, whereas growth of O. niloticus fry was significantly reduced. Adult C. gariepinus exposed to dieldrin for 30 days, with water changes every 96 h, rapidly absorbed dieldrin from aqueous solution. Dieldrin concentration was measured just before water changes and from an initial concentration of 4.0 microg liter-1, stabilized after 12 days at about 0.075 microg liter-1, indicating that a balance between uptake and excretion and metabolism had been achieved. Dieldrin accumulated in the tissues during these exposures, especially in the liver, where after 30 days the bioconcentration factor relative to initial concentration was about 900. Chronic exposure of C. gariepinus to dieldrin had no effect on blood hematocrit and hemoglobin, but appeared to slow the growth of catfish and had a clear negative effect on the reproductive potential of mature females. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.