Effect of Tributyltin Chloride on Survival, Growth and Reproduction in Zebra Fish Danio rerio

Tributyltin chloride(TBTCl) was administered through discrete immersion(2 hr each) from the $18^{th}-25^{th}$ day after hatching(dph). At the doses of 1, 2, 4 and 8 ${\mu}g/L$, the immersion at 2 ${\mu}g/L$ ensured 93% masculinization and the highest survival of 75% after the treatment. TBTCl acted as a growth suppressant and the magnitude of its suppression was stronger in females. During the 300 day experiment, it postponed sexual maturity of females from 120$^{th}$ dph in the control to 240$^{th}$ dph in the females treated at 8 ${\mu}g/L$. It reduced spawning frequency(22-3 times) and cumulative fecundity(1,632-19 eggs) by reducing the number of vitellogenic eggs. In the treated males too, it reduced sperm motility(100-68 sec); consequently, fertilizability of the sperm cells drawn from these males was also reduced from 88 to 43%. Progeny testing showed that the cross between males treated at>2 ${\mu}g/L$ and normal females generated the presumed 'homogametic' males. Both the treated 'homogametic' and 'heterogametic' males could induce the females to spawn fewer eggs than that of the normal males. A normal female somehow deducted the differences between the control, treated and sex reversed males; it preferred a normal male over a treated one, and a treated one over the sex reversed male.