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Chlorpyrifos and dichlorvos in combined exposure reveals antagonistic interaction to the freshwater fish Mrigal, Cirrhinus mrigala

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Abstract

Toxicity imposed by organophosphate pesticides to the freshwater cultivable fish species mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) was assessed under laboratory conditions. Healthy juveniles were exposed to chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, and their equitoxic mixture in geometric series. Median lethal concentrations of chlorpyrifos were found to be 0.906 (0.689–1.179), 0.527 (0.433–0.633), 0.435 (0.366–0.517) and 0.380 (0.319–0.450) mg/L and dichlorvos were found to be 38.432 (33.625–47.866), 22.477 (19.047–26.646), 12.442 (9.619–14.196) and 11.367 (9.496–13.536) mg/L after 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h of exposure respectively. Surprisingly, the joint toxicity of these organophosphates in the binary mixture was less than additive during most of the exposure periods. Behavioral changes exhibited by individual as well as mixture pesticide treatments were loss of schooling behavior, aggregating at corners of the test chamber, elevated opercular beatings, surplus mucus secretion, slight color changes and sudden and rapid body movements before death. Loss of fish equilibrium was noticed only in chlorpyrifos treated fish, whereas sluggish behavior was noticed only in mixture pesticide treatment. Such behavioral studies can be applied as a non-invasive bio-monitoring tool for water quality assessment for fish growth and development. Despite the same mode of action of both pesticides, the antagonistic action in the binary mixture is an interesting outcome of this research that requires further investigation for a lucid understanding of the joint toxicity mechanism of such pesticides.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Central Fisheries Promotion and Conservation Centre, Balaju, Kathmandu, Nepal for providing research facilities. We extend our gratitude to Mr. Baikuntha Adhikari, Mr. Subhash Kumar Jha and Mr. Balaram Acharya for their help in different capacities.

Funding

No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript. However, laboratory facilities and chemicals required for the study were provided by Central Fisheries Promotion and Conservation Centre, Balaju, Kathmandu, Nepal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Department of Zoology, Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Prabesh Singh Kunwar, Bhawani Sapkota, Samikshya Badu, Kusum Parajuli & Kumar Sapkota

  2. Central Fisheries Promotion and Conservation Centre, Balaju, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Prabesh Singh Kunwar

  3. Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, 1200 North University Drive, Pine Bluff, 71601, AR, USA

    Amit Kumar Sinha

  4. Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, BE-2020, Antwerp, Belgium

    Gudrun De Boeck

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  1. Prabesh Singh Kunwar
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Contributions

PSK designed this research, monitored the lab works and prepared the draft version of the manuscript. BS and SB conducted the exposure experiments and collected fish mortality and behavior data. KP compiled and analyzed the data. AKS and GDeB reviewed, corrected and improved the manuscript. KS approved the research design, validated the data and reviewed the manuscript for publication.

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Correspondence to Prabesh Singh Kunwar or Kumar Sapkota.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Ethical approval for the study (Ref no. 1215) was received on 18 September 2019 from the Ethical Review Board of Nepal Health Research Council, Government of Nepal.

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Kunwar, P.S., Sapkota, B., Badu, S. et al. Chlorpyrifos and dichlorvos in combined exposure reveals antagonistic interaction to the freshwater fish Mrigal, Cirrhinus mrigala. Ecotoxicology 31, 657–666 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-022-02534-6

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