The trout farm effect on Dinocras megacephala (Plecoptera: Perlidae) larvae: Antioxidative defense

Abstract

Trout production represents a major agricultural activity in Serbia. Organic compounds are drained into the environment, usually without previous sedimentation, thus affecting the stream biota. Considering that biological monitoring is commonly based on aquatic macroinvertebrates as target organisms, the authors used larvae of Dinocras megacephala to estimate trout farm effects on the mass of the larvae and their antioxidative defense in pollution stress conditions. Four locations were chosen along the channel of the Raška River, 2 upstream (L1, L2) and 2 downstream (L3, L4) from the trout farm outlet. Basic physical and chemical water parameters were measured. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity changes were analyzed to determine the level of oxidative stress caused by the increase of organic compounds originating from the trout farm. Dissolved oxygen concentration decreased from the upstream to downstream locations. Furthermore, the concentration of ionized ammonia was almost 10 times higher at the downstream locations than at the upstream locations. Larval mass, as well as CAT activity, was significantly higher at L3 compared with the other 3 locations. Activity of SOD was significantly higher at L3 than at L1. The results indicate that higher concentrations of organic compounds from the trout farm induce clear changes in the status of the antioxidant defense of D. megacephala larvae. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1775-1782. © 2015 SETAC.

Influence of trout farm effluents on selected oxidative stress biomarkers in larvae of Ecdyonurus venosus (Ephemeroptera, Heptageniidae)

“…SOD is an effective and sensitive biomarker and a reliable indicator of oxidative stress and the negative effects of various toxins [6], and it is considered to be the first line of defense against the harmful action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) [45,46]. GPx is an enzyme responsible for the reduction of H 2 O 2 and elimination of organic hydroperoxides [47].…”

“…If we analyze the trend of changes in SOD and GPx activities from locality to locality, we can see that they are strongly correlated with the respective changes in concentrations of total phosphorus and nitrite along the Skrapež River. Mirčić et al [6] investigated the influence of trout farms on the activities of the antioxidant enzymes SOD and catalase in the larvae of Dinocras megacephala. Contrary to our results, the results of their study indicated the greatest activity of SOD at the first locality downstream from the fish farm.…”

“…In recent years, trout aquaculture has been observed to exert a strong influence on these sensitive aquatic ecosystems. With more intensive production in aquaculture, there has been an increase in the amount of fish-food and waste material, including organic matter, nutrients and suspended solid materials in the water, which directly affects the concentration of oxygen, eutrophication, and turbidity [4][5][6].…”

“…Moreover, the larvae are stenovalent in relation to water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, substrate type and river speed and size [15,16]. In aquatic organisms (including the larvae of Ephemeroptera), changes in the concentrations and activities of certain enzymatic antioxidants have been shown to be useful biomarkers of oxidative stress caused by pollutants [6,[17][18][19][20][21][22]. These molecular biomarkers represent the most appropriate method of detecting the early influence of pollutants [18,[23][24][25][26] and predicting their effects at the level of populations.…”

“…As far as the influence of outlet waters of trout farms is concerned, investigators have to date mainly concentrated their efforts on studying the structure of macrozoobenthic communities [3,10,34]. Investigations of the effects of trout farms on aquatic insects at the molecular level are still in their infancy [6]. In view of these facts and because the number of trout farms in Serbia is constantly increasing, the timely detection of negative influence of pollutants on aquatic ecosystems is especially important in order to prevent chronic negative effects of outlet waters from fish farms.…”