GLOBAL JOURNAL OF FISHERIES SCIENCE
Integrity Research Journals
ISSN: 2782-750X
Model: Open Access/Peer Reviewed
DOI: 10.31248/GJFS
Start Year: 2018
Email: gjfs@integrityresjournals.org
Ecotoxicological assessment of Fieldklear herbicide in juvenile African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) under static-renewal conditions in Imo State, Nigeria
https://doi.org/10.31248/GJFS2026.110 | Article Number: A45BB7B84 | Vol.8 (3) - July 2026
Received Date: 15 June 2026 | Accepted Date: 15 July 2026 | Published Date: 30 July 2026
Authors: Chizurum Utah , Malachy Nwigwe Okechukwu Ajima , Abdulrahman Jibril Bunu , Emmanuel Uchenna Cyril , Ogueri Chukwuma , Chukwuka Fabian Ezeafulukwe , Emperor Egwu Eluu , Juliet Ifeoma Uzoma and Okechukwu Kenneth Wokeh*
Keywords: water, Aquatic resource, ecotoxicity, herbicides, LC50
Limited information exists on the ecotoxicological effects of Fieldklear herbicide on freshwater fish species despite its increasing application in agricultural systems. This study investigated the acute toxicity and sublethal impacts of Fieldklear herbicide on water quality and behavioural responses of juvenile Clarias gariepinus. Acute toxicity bioassays were conducted using five concentrations of Fieldklear (0.50–4.00 ml/L) to determine the 96-h median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) through probit analysis, while sublethal exposures (0.085, 0.17 and 0.34 ml/L) were maintained for 28 days under static-renewal conditions. Mortality increased progressively with increasing herbicide concentration, and the 96-h LC₅₀ was estimated at 1.36 ml/L, indicating considerable toxicity of the herbicide to juvenile fish. Sublethal exposure significantly affected water quality characteristics (p < 0.05), resulting in reduced dissolved oxygen (6.44–2.96 mg/L), pH (7.41–6.60) and alkalinity (146.75–93.40 mg/L), while biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, ammonia-nitrogen and nitrate concentrations increased with increasing herbicide concentration. Behavioural abnormalities were also observed in exposed fish, including erratic swimming, hyperactivity, increased opercular ventilation, reduced feeding activity, loss of equilibrium and diminished response to external stimuli. The severity of these responses increased with herbicide concentration and exposure duration. The findings demonstrate that Fieldklear herbicide adversely affects both aquatic environmental quality and fish behaviour, suggesting potential ecological risks in aquatic ecosystems receiving agricultural runoff. These results provide baseline data for environmental risk assessment and support the development of management strategies aimed at minimising herbicide-related impacts on aquatic ecosystems.
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