Effects of anionic surfactant and salinity on the bioenergetics of juveniles of Centropomus parallelus (Poey)

The acute and sublethal chronic effects of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) on the survival, metabolism, and growth of juveniles of Centropomus parallelus were investigated at three different salinities. Results of 96 h LC50 test showed that juveniles of C. parallelus were very sensitive to SDS in comparison to other species investigated. For each group of exposure to nominal concentrations of SDS (0.10 and 0.25 mg/L) and the control group (0.0 mg/L), at the different salinities (5, 20, and 30) there were significant differences in the specific growth rate, oxygen consumption, and ammonia excretion rates, O:N atomic ratio at the different exposure periods (15 and 30 days). There were also interactions between factors for the parameters investigated. The present results show a pronounced effect of SDS, mainly at the highest concentration and salinity, as well as after a long time of exposure.