Energy balance of juvenile Cyprinus carpio after a short-term exposure to sublethal water-borne cadmium

Stress in fish can be assessed by means of a bioenergetic approach, based on the evaluation of changes in their physiological parameters. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of sublethal water-borne cadmium (Cd) on the energetic balance of juvenile Cyprinus carpio under laboratory conditions after a short-term exposure. Fish were exposed to a concentration of Cd (0.15 mg Cd l(-1)) for 2 weeks. This concentration is environmentally realistic since it is usually found, even at higher values, in heavily polluted periurban water bodies of Argentina. No mortality was recorded among the animals used in the experiments. Food intake, food assimilation and assimilation efficiency, fecal production, liver glycogen content, oxygen consumption, oxygen extraction efficiency, specific metabolic rate, ammonia excretion and ammonia quotient (AQ), condition factor, and liver somatic index were determined. The overall balance was expressed as the scope for growth (SFG). The morphological indices and the liver glycogen content of Cd-exposed fish showed no significant differences when compared to those of controls. There was a significant decrease in the food intake, fecal production, and food assimilation rates as well as in AQ; the SFG exhibited a highly significant decrease. The remaining parameters (assimilation efficiency, oxygen consumption, oxygen extraction efficiency, specific metabolic rate, and ammonia excretion) increased after the exposure to Cd. We concluded that the sub-chronic exposure of Cyprinus carpio to a sublethal concentration of Cd causes important alterations in the energy-related homeostasis of fish. Most of the responses are indicative of physiological adaptations to compensate an increased energy requirement due to the impairments caused by the metal.