A STUDY ON THE PESTICIDE LOAD OF PALLIKKAL RIVER WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO FISHES

Kerala is a land of rivers,which harbors a rich and diversified fauna characterised by many rare and endemic species.The eastern Kerala region consist of high Mountains,gorges and deep -cut valleys, immediately west of the Western Ghats rain shadow areas.Forty - one of Kerala s west flowing rivers and three of its east flowing ones originate in this region.Three rivers,Kabini,!havani and pampar rise in Kerala and flow eastwards"Kabini into Karnata#a and the other two into Tamilnadu.$ll the others flow westward into the Kerala !ac#waters or into the $rabian sea.

%normous &uantity of man-made chemicals are being used in modern agriculture for producing food commodities as efficiently as possible to meet worldwide everincreasing food demands'!hatnagar,())*+.despite obvious benefits,misuse of such chemicals has resulted in over into,ication of animals and accumulation of residues in feeds and foods,causing environmental and ecological impacts 'Moore *-.)+.$mong the innumerable chemicals,pesticides have been posing serious problems./esticide residues are found as common contaminants in soil,air,water and non-target organisms in our 0rban landscapes.They can harm plants and animals ranging from beneficial soil microorganisms and insects to other non-target life forms such as plants,fish,birds and other wildlife'$#tar et al.,())-+. /estcide residue may be comprised of many substance,including any specified derivatives such as degradation products,metabolites and impurities that are considerd to be to,icological importance.1everal studies showed that pesticides could cause health problems such as birth defects,nerve damage,cancer etc'2ohn et al.,())*,!edi et al.,())3 and $ula#h et al.,())4+.

$mong various types of pesticides used in 5ndia,6)7 belongs to 8rganochlorine'$bhilash and 1ingh,())-+.8f the varous a&uatic organisms,fishes are proven to be e,cellent indicators of contamination,as they can ac&uire pollutants from food,suspended particles or directly from water'2aya#umar and Muralidharan,()**+.Fish can be found virtually everywhere in the a&uatic environment and they play a ma9or ecological role in the a&uatic food webs because of their function as a carrier of energy from lower to higher trophic levels'Muralidharan et al.,()).,2ayanthi and Muralidharan,())-,Muralidharan et al., ())- and Muralidharan,()*)+.0sing species assessment as a tool,is one way of understanding the threats to biodiversity,ecosystem and specially the impacts of changing ecosystem on human well being.

The bioaccumulation of pesticides in fish'Kannan et al.,*--3":i9ayan et al.,())6"1atyanarayan et al.,())3"Mali# et al.,());,1ingh and 1ingh,()).a,b,Muralidharan et al.,())-+,food stuffs'Tanbe et ai.,*--*+and endocrine disrupting chemicals '!arse et al.,());,Micheletti et al.,()); and /o9ana et al., ());+have also been reported.$ccording to :i9ayan et al.,'())6+,about .)7 of fishes from 5nland Wetlands of 5ndia,even from relatively remote regions had <e,a =hlorocyclo <e,ane,while heptachlor epo,ide was detected in about ;.7 and endosulfan in 447 of the wetlands studied.The most persistent >>T and its homologs were measured in ;47 of fishes.

The present study implies mainly on the hydroecology,pesticide load and pesticide load in fishes of /alli#al river.5nformation on the water property changes in accordance with the high ris# of people e,posed to pesticides include production wor#ers,formulators,sprayers,mi,ers,loaders and agricultural farm wor#ers.The gravity of the problem of pollution is severe and the list of fresh water species endangered is being annotated every year by the addition of species.%nvisaged in the present study may be of help in elucidating the changes brought in through these recent anthropogenic activities.Moreover,the study is an analysis of the river in a broader ecological sense for the future conservation of this uni&ue a&uatic system. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

*.>ocument the hydroecology of /alli#al river. (.To study the pesticide load in palli#al river. ?.To study the pesticide load in fishes of palli#al river.

STUDY AREA

Kerala has an area of ?.,.4? #m(' *3,))3 s&m+lying between north latitudes .)*. and east longitudes ;6) 3( .5t e,perience humid e&uatorial tropic climate.Kerala is a land of rivers,among the 6* of #erala s west flowing rivers,/alli##al river is the tributory of #urumali river.5t is originating from Kalarithara#unnu at #oduman in /athanamthitta >istrict,flows into Kayam#ulam #ayal.Which is of 6( #m in length and (()cm in breadth.The entire river system was surveyed and three stations representing different environmental conditions were selected for regular monitoring.The specified study station are given below"

1. ANAYADI

$nayadi lies at the north of Kollam and borders $lappu@ha and /athanamthitta dist $nayadi is a rural area , /alli#al river which originate from #odumon and pass by $nayadi .$t $nayadi ,the palli#al river becomes little broader .$nayadi is region with a wide range of vegetations and plantations. :egetations includes different types of vegetables,banana etcA. .Ma9or part of $nayadi is covered with plantation.
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Thodiyoor is a village in Kollam '>ist+ in the state of Kerala . /alli#al river in anayadi is followed by Thodiyoor . $t Thodiyoor , /alli#al river is more broader . Thodiyoor has several huge bunds .These bunds helps to maintain the freshwater nature of /alli#al Civer .5t prevents the salination.
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The ending site of /alli#al river is :atta##ayal.The /alli##al river is most broad at :atta##ayal.$t this region the water becomes saline.There is no bunds to prevent the salinity.

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Monthly collection were carried out by covering all the three seasons of the year"premonsoon,monsoon,postmonsoon.The analysis of samples will be carried out by standard procedure'$/<$,())3 (( version+.pestcide analysis will be analysed using Gas =hromatographic Mass 1pecterometer .

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The study is of great application value and is e,pected to bring out a most comprehensive set of basic data on all aspects of hydroecology ,pesticidal pollution of /alli#al river and offer suggestions to control the harmfull effects of pesticide, which leads to the destruction of /alli#al river.

C%F%C%E=%

*.!hatnagar :K'())*+./esticides pollutionGtrends H perspectives,5=MC !ull.?*G.;-..

(.!edi 21 Gill $ula#h C1 2oia !1 and 1harma 2K'())3+.contamination levels of >>T and <=< residues in different caprine tissues in /un9ab,5ndia.5ndian 2.$nim 1ci.,;3'*+G**-*?

?. !arse $: =ha#rabarti T Ghosh TK /al $K and 2adhao 1! '());+.%ndocrine disruption and metabolic changes following e,posure of =yprinus carpio to diethyl phthalate.pest !iochem and physio...'*+G?4-6(.

6.$garomoorthy G'()).+.=an 5ndia meet the increasing food demand by ()()I Futures.6)G(;.-(...

3.$#tar MW 1engupta > and =howdhury $'())-+.5mpact of pesticides use in agricultureGtheir benefits and ha@ards.5nterdiscip To,icol.,('*+G*-*(.

4.2aya#umar C and Muralidharan 1'()**+.%valuation of Metal pollution in Wetlands using fish as a 5ndicator.CesearchH CeviewsG$ 2ournal of To,icology.'5npress+.

;.Kumar M Gupta 1# Garg 1K and Kumar $ '())4+.!iodegradation of he,achloracyclohe,ane-isomers in contaminated soils.1oil !iol !iochem.,?.G(?*.-(?(;

..Cao :1'*--4+.=ontamination of :illage drin#ing water ponds with pesticide residue,5nd 2.tan# and canal water./est res 2.-'*+G-;-*))

-.:i9ayan :1 /rasad 1E :i9ayan D and Muralidharan 1'())6+.5nG5sland Wetlands of 5ndia =onservation priorities'pp.FF5:J3?(+.

*).Wania F Mac#ay >'*--4+.Trac#ing the distribution of persistent organic pollutants.%nviron 1ci and tech.?)G?-)-?-4.

**.Kannan K Tanabe 1 and Tatsu#awa C'*--3+.Geographical distribution and accumulation features of organochlorine residues in fish in tropical $sia and oceania.%nviron.sci.Tech.(-G(4;?-(4.?.

*(.Moore EW'*-.)+./esticides and other man-made chemicals and the food chain.5nG!la,ter K'ed+Food chains and human .3nutrition.$pplied 1cience /ublishers Dtd,%sse,,pp 6)*-6*).