George ADI, Akinrotimi OA
A total of 180 Clarias gariepinus juveniles comprising of 90 male and female each, were exposed to different concentrations of combined atrazine and metolachlor (0.00 mg/L-control, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 and 0.05 mg/L) for 14 days to assess the influence of sex on the response of the fish to this chemical under laboratory conditions. The result obtained revealed that the female fish in the control group had an increase value of haemoglobin (Hb) than the male, while in the experimental group the values of Hb in male fish were consistently higher than the females. The comparative values of red blood cell (RBC) indicated that the female fish had higher values of RBC than the male in all concentrations of exposure. In packed cell volume (PCV), female fish were higher than the males. In assessment of male and female response to the toxicant under consideration, the values of white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils and monocytes increased significantly with increasing concentrations of the chemical with the female values higher than the males. Also, the values of lymphocytes, platelets, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) in the exposed fish indicated a significant reduction, which was more noticeable in female than the male fish. However, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) values were within the same range for both sexes. Overall, it appears that the males were more responsive to the stress of chemical exposure than the females.
