Effects of atrazine and picloram on grass carp: acute toxicity and histological assessment

The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute toxicity of atrazine and picloram separately to grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). Firstly, fingerlings were exposed to nominal concentrations of these herbicides to determine the lethal concentration (LC50) (96 h). After this, the animals were treated with sub-acute concentrations of the herbicides to measure the effects on gill histology. The LC50 (96 h) of the atrazine and picloram were, respectively, 37mg L-1 and 4.4 mgL(-1). Four types of alterations were found in gills exposed to atrazine, which were epithelial lifting, partial cell proliferation, lamellar fusion, and aneurysm. Nominal concentrations of picloram caused epithelial lifting, partial cell proliferation, and lamellar fusion.