Cortisol response to acute stress in jundiá Rhamdia quelen acutely exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of agrichemicals.

Exposure to agrichemicals can have deleterious effects on fish, such as disruption of the hypothalamus-pituitary-inter-renal axis (HPI) that could impair the ability of fish to respond to stressors. In this study, fingerlings of the teleost jundiá (Rhamdia quelen) were used to investigate the effects of the commonly used agrichemicals on the fish response to stress. Five common agrichemicals were tested: the fungicide - tebuconazole, the insecticide - methyl-parathion, and the herbicides - atrazine, atrazine+simazine, and glyphosate. Control fishes were not exposed to agrichemicals and standard stressors. In treatments 2-4, the fishes were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations (16.6%, 33.3%, and 50% of the LC(50)) of each agrichemical for 96 h, and at the end of this period, were subjected to an acute stress-handling stimulus by chasing them with a pen net. In treatments 5-7 (16.6%, 33.3%, and 50% of the LC(50)), the fishes were exposed to the same concentrations of the agrichemicals without stress stimulus. Treatment 8 consisted of jundiás not exposed to agrichemicals, but was subjected to an acute stress-handling stimulus. Jundiás exposed to methyl-parathion, atrazine+simazine, and glyphosate presented a decreased capacity in exhibiting an adequate response to cope with stress and in maintaining the homeostasis, with cortisol level lower than that in the control fish (P<0.01). In conclusion, the results of this study clearly demonstrate that the acute exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of methyl-parathion, atrazine+simazine, and glyphosate exert a deleterious effect on the cortisol response to an additional acute stressor in the jundiá fingerlings.

Chronic exposure to sub-lethal concentration of a glyphosate-based herbicide alters hormone profiles and affects reproduction of female Jundiá (Rhamdia quelen).

This work was carried out to verify the effect of a glyphosate-based herbicide on Jundiá hormones (cortisol, 17ß-estradiol and testosterone), oocyte and swim-up fry production. Earthen ponds containing Jundiá females were contaminated with glyphosate (3.6mg/L); blood samples were collected from eight females from each treatment immediately before, or at 1, 10, 20, 30 and 40 days following contamination. A typical post-stress rise in cortisol levels was observed at the 20th and 40th days following exposure to glyphosate. At the 40th day, 17ß-estradiol was decreased in the exposed females. A similar number of oocytes were stripped out from females from both groups; however, a lower number of viable swim-up fry were obtained from the herbicide exposed females, which also had a higher liver-somatic index (LSI). The results indicate that the presence of glyphosate in water was deleterious to Rhamdia quelen reproduction, altering steroid profiles and egg viability.