Combined effects of moderate hypoxia, pesticides and PCBs upon crucian carp fish, Carassius carassius, from a freshwater lake- in situ ecophysiological approach.

Nowadays, depletion of oxygen or hypoxia has become a real concerning problem worldwide in freshwater, marine, and estuarine ecosystems and very often co-occurs with xenobiotics. Even though the acute and severe hypoxia is heavily studied in environment and laboratory studies, the in situ combined effects of these stressors on freshwater lake organisms are poorly understood. The current study sought to understand how the combined effects of moderate hypoxia, pesticides and PCBs affect the biochemistry, physiology and organ morphology of Carassius carassius, residing in the Lake Seferani, Dumrea region (Elbasan, Albania), a natural karst freshwater system declared as Nature Monument situated in central Albania.

Digital light microscopy as a tool in toxicological evaluation of fish erythrocyte morphological abnormalities.

Fish erythrocytes are very sensitive to environmental pollution because they exhibit pathological alterations before appearance of other external symptoms, may be used as reliable toxicity bioindicators. Microscopic analysis can be a useful tool in early detection of alterations in erythrocyte morphology due to different environmental stressors, and in predicting organism's possible response ways. This study aims to evaluate the toxicity of a polluted freshwater lake on the erythrocytes of crucian carp fish, Carassius carassius, using digital light microscopy (DLM).

Antioxidant defense system, immune response and erythron profile modulation in gold fish, Carassius auratus, after acute manganese treatment.

The manganese contamination has become a global problem, recently, because it is perceived as a real threat to the human health and the environment. It is well-known that overexposure to Mn may have negative physiological effects on fish and other organisms inhabiting heavy metal polluted waters. To the best of our knowledge, studies relating with manganese effects on fish antioxidant enzyme response in the blood, immunocompetence and erythron profile alteration, are scarce.