International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391 Volume 5 Issue 9, September 2016 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Copper Toxicity and Bioassay Studies on Freshwater Fish “Cyprinus Carpio” Dr. Y. Thangam PG and Research Department of Zoology, J.K.K.Nataraja College of Arts and Science, Kumarapalayam, Mamakkal Dt, Tamilnadu, India Abstract: Copper is one of the most toxic heavy metal to fish and consumption of fish after copper treatment in water may pose a serious risk to human health. Fishes are generally used as pollution indicators in water quality management. The use of biological test system for monitoring pollution is gaining importance worldwide by employing toxicity test model Elevated levels of copper may become acutely or chronically toxic to aquatic lives. Chronic effects include reduced growth, shorter lifespan, reproductive problems, reduced fertility and behavioral changes. Keywords: Copper, Cyprinus carpio,Physico-chemical parameters, Bioassay, LC 50 1. Introduction The aquatic environment subjected to different types of pollutants of industrial, domestic and agricultural wastes and severely affect the aquatic organisms. (Beaumont et al., 2000), reported that rapid industrialization in India has resulted into a substantial increase in the liquid waste (effluent), which is traditionally being discharged into open land or in nearby natural water, causing a number of problems like threat to plant and animal lives, surface water logging, ground water contamination and salinizing of land. The problems of environmental pollution and its deleterious effects on aquatic biota, including fish is receiving focus during the last few decades. Industrial discharges containing toxic and hazardous substances, including heavy metals contribute tremendously to aquatic ecosystem. Heavy metals are natural trace components of the aquatic environment, but their levels have been increased due to domestic, industrial and agricultural activities. It causes greatest threat to the health of Indian ecosystem. Level of trace elements in water and fish has been studied (Ikem et al., 2003). Discharge of heavy metals into the aquatic environment can change both aquatic species diversity and ecosystems, due to their toxicity and accumulative behaviour. Among all types of pollution, aquatic pollution is of greater concern as each and every kind of the life depends on water. Among all types of aquatic pollutants, heavy metals are of greatest concern. Heavy metals when reach the aquatic bodies deteriorate the life sustaining quality of water and cause damages to both flora and fauna. Heavy metals are considered as the main cause of aquatic pollution and the magnitude of environmental degradation they caused is far beyond the recommended threshold limit values (Abdel- Meguid et al., 2002). Environmental pollution by heavy metals has increased as a result of rapid industrialization and uses of chemicals as fungicides, algaecides and insecticides. The metal contamination of freshwater bodies is a matter of serious concern from human health. From the point of view, many aquatic organisms particularly fish, forms an integral part of human diet. Among the various kinds of metals, copper is found to deteriorate the water quality by decreasing the available nitrogen and phosphorus, leading to loss of fertility and primary productivity of water bodies. Copper sulphate is one of the most widely used chemical as algaecide or herbicide for the control of phytoplankton or weeds respectively, in lakes, reservoirs, ponds and in municipal water treatment systems. The problem with use of copper is that there is only a narrow line that separates effective treatment levels from overdoses which kills fish (Watson and Yanong, 2002). Copper is an essential heavy metal plays an important role in various biological processes including oxidative phosphorylation, gene regulation and free radical homeostasis as essential cofactor. However, when its concentration exceeds metabolic requirements, it becomes harmful and play a major role among pollutants. Aquatic pollution undoubtedly has direct effects on fish health and survival. Heavy metals are regarded as serious pollutants of the aquatic environment because of their persistence and tendency to be concentrated in aquatic organisms. Most heavy metals released into the environment find their way into the aquatic phase as a direct input by various anthropogenic processes, atmospheric deposition and erosion due to rainwater (Singer et al, 2005). Copper plays a protective role against oxidative damage caused by variety of xenobiotic. The antioxidant effects of ceruloplasmin and metallothionein seems to be the mechanism by which copper protects under these conditions. Ceruloplasmin serves as a transport protein of copper in plasma. Parvez et al., (2003) reported that copper pre-exposure increases the activity of ceruloplasmin in fish serum. Ceruloplasmin, through ferroxidase activity, is involved in iron homeostasis and acts as an antioxidant in plasma. Copper is able to induce the biosynthesis of metallothionein. The metallothionein induction plays a role in the oxidative defence against chronic copper exposure in the liver of a freshwater fish. Elevated levels of copper may become acutely or chronically toxic to aquatic lives. Chronic effects include reduced growth, shorter lifespan, reproductive problems, reduced fertility and behavioral changes. Copper deficiency leads to physiological disturbances, symptoms which include depression of growth, anemia, bowing of legs, spontaneous fractures, ataxia of new born, cardiac and vascular disorders, depigmentation, decrease in some organs weight, depressed reproductive performance including egg production and tissue accumulation. The toxicity of any pollution is either acute or chronic. Although the toxicant impairs the metabolic and Paper ID: 11091607 1742