EFFECTS OF FLUOXETINE IN JUVENILE GUPPIES, POECILIA RETICULATA

This study evaluates the impacts of fluoxetine, used (in great amounts) by humans and discarded in natural aquatic environments (natural concentration ranges from 0.03 μg/l to 0.5 μg/l in most of natural aquatic environments in USA and Europe).A 4-day (short-term) and a 35-day (long-term) bioassay using natural concentrations of fluoxetine were conducted beginning with 7-day old guppies, Poecilia reticulata. The long-term, chronic exposure experiment was conducted to observe and compare all themorphological (length, width, and weight) and behavioral effects of fluoxetine on P. reticulata larvae. Results show no lethality from the short-time experiment, but all values from the long-term experiment show significant differences in morphological measurementsbetween control group and experimental groups, where mean values for weight, notochord length and belly width, were significantly lower within the experimental groups. Further, experimental groups showed greater changes in behavioral patterns and mortality rates (long-term). These findings are consistent with previous studies using the same and similar species, showing the detrimental impacts of prolonged fluoxetine exposure.