Possible chemical causes of skeletal deformities in natural populations of Aphanius fasciatus collected from the Tunisian coast

► Patterns of skeletal deformities were detected in natural population of Aphanius fasciatus. ► The high incidence of spinal deformities was observed in the most polluted site. ► The most polluted site is contaminated mainly by heavy metals and organic compounds. ► Relation between the observed defo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemosphere (Oxford) 2013-03, Vol.90 (11), p.2683-2689
Main Authors: Kessabi, Kaouthar, Annabi, Ali, Hassine, Aziza Ibn Hadj, Bazin, Ingrid, Mnif, Wissem, Said, Khaled, Messaoudi, Imed
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
abnormal development
Abnormalities, Drug-Induced - epidemiology
Abnormalities, Drug-Induced - veterinary
adults
Agnatha. Pisces
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Aphanius
Aphanius fasciatus
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
cadmium
chemical analysis
coastal water
copper
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates
Endocrine disruption
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Environmental Sciences
estrogenic properties
fish
Fish Diseases - chemically induced
Fish Diseases - epidemiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
heavy metals
industrialization
Killifishes
Metallic pollution
Metals, Heavy - analysis
Organic pollution
pollutants
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons - analysis
sediments
Skeletal deformities
skeleton
spatial variation
Spinal Diseases - chemically induced
Spinal Diseases - epidemiology
Spinal Diseases - veterinary
Spine - abnormalities
synthetic estrogens
temporal variation
Tunisia
Tunisian coasts
vertebrae
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
water pollution
zinc
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Summary:► Patterns of skeletal deformities were detected in natural population of Aphanius fasciatus. ► The high incidence of spinal deformities was observed in the most polluted site. ► The most polluted site is contaminated mainly by heavy metals and organic compounds. ► Relation between the observed deformities and chemical pollution was suggested. This study attempt to quantify and identify skeletal deformities in natural populations of Aphanius fasciatus collected from the Tunisian coast and tends to found a possible relationship between these anomalies and several types of pollutants presents in the environment. Fish were collected from one reference area (S1: coast of Luza) and three polluted areas (S2: industrialized coast of Sfax, S3: coast of Khniss and S4: Hamdoun’Oued). Various patterns of skeletal deformities were diagnosed using double staining technics, and the levels of heavy metals (Cd, Cu and Zn), various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and estrogenic compounds were determined in water and sediment from different sites. Spatio-temporal variation of the spinal deformities frequencies in A. fasciatus show that high incidence of spinal anomalies has been recorded in population collected from S2 in comparison to three other ones. Morphological results indicated that skeletal deformities of adult A. fasciatus were grouped into 13 categories that described abnormalities on spines, vertebrae, arcs and mandibles. A total of 1025 abnormalities were quantified. The results of chemical analysis showed that the levels of heavy metals and PAHs were significantly higher in S2 than in S1, S3 and S4. High level of estrogenic activity was observed only in S4. A possible correlation between environmental exposures to a mixture of pollutants in coastal waters in S2 and spinal deformities in A. fasciatus was suggested.
ISSN:0045-6535
1879-1298
DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.11.047