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Glyphosate Toxicity: Effects on the Behavioural and Growth Responses of Juvenile Clarias gariepinus

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Abstract

Glyphosate is a broad spectrum herbicide used primarily in agricultural applications for the control of variety of weeds in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Pollution of aquatic habitat may result in mass fish mortality or affect the physiology and survival of fish. Thus, this study evaluated the effects of exposure of juveniles of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus, to sub-lethal doses of glyphosate, to determine its effects on the behaviour and growth response. Eight fish samples were introduced into individual plastic tank containing 0.00 ml (control), 2 ml/L (Treatment 1), 4 ml/L (Treatment 2), 6 ml/L (Treatment 3) and 8 ml/L (Treatment 4) of glyphosate in triplicate for 28 days. The physico-chemical parameters of water were within the permissive limits for aquaculture. However, the presence of herbicides in the water threatened the fish’s survival, which had detrimental impacts on the experimental fish that could be seen. According to this study, fish exposed to glyphosate displayed a variety of abnormal behaviors, including erratic swimming, loss of equilibrium, restlessness, respiratory distress, paleness/bleaching of the skin, and gasping for oxygen. In contrast, fish samples in the control group did not exhibit any discernible behavioral changes. Also, the weight of exposed fish did not increase significantly (P < 0.05) with period of exposure. This study concluded that glyphosate is highly toxic to Clarias gariepinus (because of the erratic behaviours and mortality that was directly proportional to concentration and exposure duration). Therefore, indiscriminate application of glyphosate (as well as other herbicides) should be totally discouraged.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the painstaking efforts of our undergraduate students in the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology Okitipupa, Nigeria for doing some pilot studies on some aspects of the research work.

Funding

This study received no specific support from public, private, or non-profit funding bodies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Nigeria

    Adefemi Olatayo Ajibare

  2. Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Ondo State, Nigeria

    Patrick Oluwagbemiga Ayeku

Authors
  1. Adefemi Olatayo Ajibare
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Contributions

All of the authors worked together to complete this project. AAO and APO conceptualised, designed and participated in the work. The protocol was written by AAO. The statistical analysis was carried out by AAO and APO. The study’s analyses and literature searches were handled by AAO and APO. The original draft of the manuscript was written by AAO. The final manuscript was read, corrected and approved by both authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adefemi Olatayo Ajibare.

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Ethical Statement

The authors confirm that all experiments were carried out following the approval of the appropriate ethical review committee of the Central Research Laboratory, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology Okitipupa, Nigeria (reference number not applicable) and were in accordance with both the national and international safety regulations and ethical principles for animal welfare. The authors also confirm that they have followed EU standards for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

Animal Welfare Statement

The authors confirm that the ethical policies of the journal, as noted on the journal’s author guidelines page, have been adhered to and the appropriate ethical review committee approval of the Central Research Laboratory, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology Okitipupa, Nigeria has been received. The authors confirm that they have followed EU standards for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Significance’ Statement

Fish exposed to glyphosate exhibited varying abnormal morphology and behavioural responses such as erratic swimming, loss of equilibrium, restlessness, respiratory distress, paleness/bleaching of skin and gasping for oxygen. Toxicity was concentration and time of exposure dependent, hence resulting in the deleterious effects, especially at higher concentrations. The weight of exposed fish did not increase significantly (P  < 0.05) with period of exposure.

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Ajibare, A.O., Ayeku, P.O. Glyphosate Toxicity: Effects on the Behavioural and Growth Responses of Juvenile Clarias gariepinus. Polytechnica 7, 5 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41050-024-00046-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41050-024-00046-2

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