Hundal, S.S.Saini, Amandeep Kaur2017-05-082017-05-082012http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810010757High concentration of arsenic in groundwater of south-western provinces of Punjab, India has become a major cause of concern. Monitoring arsenic levels and their associated health effects in fish would not only provide an insight into overall ecosystem health but may also act as a sentinel for potential impacts on human health. Freshwater fish was captured from natural sites with known constant elevated levels of arsenic of 12-13 μg/L and brought to laboratory with an objective to analyze fish muscle tissue for arsenic and the chronic effect of elevated levels of arsenic on Hepatosomatic index (HSI), Gonadosomatic index (GSI) and histology of fish. The variation in HSI and GSI values for fish from affected and control sites were statistically insignificant. Mean arsenic concentration of arsenic in the muscle tissue of fish from the area with an elevated level of arsenic was recorded as 172.3±22.4 μg/g as compared to average value of 93.3±13.1 μg/g in control. Histological studies revealed degenerative changes in liver, congestion of blood vessels in kidney along with vacuolar degeneration; besides this, significant difference in the diameter of proximal convoluted tubules and its lumen for kidney tissue was observed. The gonadal changes included the loss in shape of seminiferous tubules in testis and exfoliation of ovarian cells. The histomorphometric observations indicated an insignificant difference in the diameter of the secondary oocyte, while the primary oocyte diameter had significant variation (p>0.0001) from control specimens. These observations are in accordance with earlier studies on the effect of environmental contaminants, but being one of the first reported on fresh water fish exposed in natural waters, it assumes significance. The observations have been related to the physiology as also to the reproductive health of fish and may have a bearing on mammalian health under constant exposure.ennullThesis