Physiological and biochemical changes in shrimp larvae (Penaeus vannamei) intoxicated with organochlorine pesticides

Shrimp larvae (Penaeus vannamei) collected from an uncontaminated area were challenged with sublethal concentrations of organochlorine pesticides. The effects of treatment with lindane, lorsban, chlordane and DDT, were a 5, −12, 13 and 21% increase in the larval respiratory rate, respectively. Glycogen synthesis decreased from the 0.471 μg g⁻¹ h⁻¹ of the control, to 0.455, 0.415, 0.400 and 0.365 μg g⁻¹ h⁻¹, for larvae submitted to DDT, chlordane, lindane and lorsban. In addition, we measured decreases in nucleic acid content, from 20.4 and 34.9% in larvae challenged by chlordane and lorsban, respectively, and values close to 25% for two other pesticides tested. These results indicate drastic metabolic changes, which may impinge on the commercial fishery and culture of this organisms.