Effect of disturbed environments on the scale epithelium and feeding rate of Prochilodus lineatus (Prochilodontidae)

Abstract

Due to the growing concern with global pollution it becomes more and more important to focus on assessing lethal and sublethal effects of toxic agents, using the most informative diagnostic techniques as possible. Furthermore the recent search is for non-invasive or non-lethal sampling techniques, which represent an atractive alternative to tradicional methods of assessing contamination in fish. Searching also for techniques that allow identification of toxic agent's effects on several levels of biological organization and grant a broad view of the consequences of exposure to contaminants. Keeping in mind that biodegradable detergents are one of the compounds most dumped into rivers, and that LAS (linear alkilbenzene sulphonate) represents one of the active principles of detergent most consumed on the market, the project whishes to evaluate morphological alterations (histological, histochemical and ultrastructural) on the scale epithelium of a fish species, Prochilodus lineatus, due to direct and constant exposure to two dilutions of LAS, compared to a control group. The study aims to associate such effects to alterations on the feeding behavior of the fish. The collected data will be analyzed using a Leica microscope with camera, a Phillips transmission electron microscope, a Hitachi TM3000 scanning electron microscope, and Image J software. (AU)